


Lost With Yoo

by Monroha



Series: Hyungki Soulmate AU [1]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2019-09-12 17:13:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 32,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16876917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Monroha/pseuds/Monroha
Summary: Your soulmate is written on your wrist, but there is no guarantee you will find them. Hyungwon didn’t have to worry about that though. Sometimes the thing you don’t have is the thing you want the most.





	1. Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic. Hope you enjoy! - Kay

“Four out of the seven of you have found your soulmates correct?” The shrill voice of the radio host rang through Hyungwon’s headphones. Of course, she was looking right at him. He fidgeted with the hem of his shirt as he waited for someone else to answer. He hated these questions so much. Why couldn’t interviewers stop being so nosy? He looked across the table, to where Minhyuk was sitting. He silently hoped for his best friend to do what he did best and distract the attention away from him. 

“You are correct! Shownu is the best soulmate ever though, so it’s not like the others even need to comment.” Hyungwon noticed the quick glance the blonde made towards his soulmate, a practiced smile on his face as he turned back to the host. “I mean no one compares to this man, he’s perfect. We have the best story of how we met, want to hear it?” Hyungwon could see the host shift her gaze away from him and towards Minhyuk. He let out a sigh of relief as the blonde repeated a story he had heard countless times. He made a mental note to thank his excitable friend as he listened to their leader join in the retelling of their first meeting. 

It was a sweet story, like something straight out of a Kdrama. Minhyuk had noticed the hot new trainee and made a point to introduce himself. Upon hearing the name Lee Minhyuk, Shownu had simply stuttered out his own name. Minhyuk, being who he was, proceeded to jump into Shownu’s arms and kiss every inch of his new found soulmate’s face. Ever since, they had been the perfect example of what soulmates should be. It was something Hyungwon had always wanted, but knew he could never have. 

Once all attention was safely directed away, he took the chance to look over at Kihyun beside him. The pink haired boy had always avoided soulmate questions, even when they came from his fellow group members. The boy in question was looking at his hands in his lap, pink bangs down and covering his eyes. Hyungwon felt the need to reach out and make sure he was okay, but noticed Changkyun already giving Kihyun’s knee a reassuring squeeze. 

“Hyungwon!” He snapped out of his thoughts as someone whispered into his ear. He whipped his head up and almost hit Wonho’s jaw in the process. He gave the older boy a questioning look and then realized everyone else was starting to stand up. They must have to perform now. His thoughts were confirmed as Wonho chuckled and told him to get into position. 

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

“That was a great performance boys!” The host exclaimed as they sat back down, a little winded from their tiring choreography. Hyungwon never went all out for radio performances, but he could see some of the other members glistening in sweat as they tried to catch their breath. 

As he was about to thank the lady for her compliment, she started talking again. “I told myself I wasn’t going to ask this, but I think the fans are dying to know.” She had all of their attention now. A lead up like that could only mean more uncomfortable questions. “Kihyun, you are the only member who has never spoken about your soulmark. Is there a reason for that?” 

Hyungwon saw Kihyun freeze as all eyes turned to him. The pink haired boy seemed at a loss for words. He glanced at each of his members, looking for some kind of help. 

“Soulmates are a private matter and I think we’ve said all we are going to on that topic.” Changkyun raised an eyebrow at the host, as if asking her to challenge him. She stuttered out an apology and then looked over at Shownu, probably to ask more personal questions. 

Hyungwon tuned everything else out in favour of looking back over at the panicked boy beside him. “Hey, you okay?” He whispered. Without looking over, Kihyun gave a small nod and Hyungwon knew he wasn’t. But they still had another twenty minutes or so of this interview and there was no way their management would let them leave early. He placed his arm around the back of Kihyun’s chair to try and offer some sort of comfort. There wasn’t much he could do until they finished the interview. Kihyun seemed to lean into him slightly, so he took that as a small win and tried to focus back on the other members. 

The rest of the interview stayed less intrusive. The boys were done for the day and were in the car heading back to their dorm. Hyungwon counted himself lucky they had two cars today so he didn’t have to watch Minhyuk and Shownu be all cuddly. Normally he was happy for his friends, but right now he didn’t want to think about how he was going to be alone forever. He looked down to the thin bracelet covering his wrist. Maybe the next time he took it off a name would magically appear. Then he can be as happy as the two in the other car, who are most likely making out. He almost felt bad for letting Wonho go alone with them, until he remembered all the times he has been stuck in that same position. 

He had every intention to try and nap when he felt a tug at his sleeve. “Hey, when we get home... Can you just... can you not ask?” He looked over and met Kihyun’s pleading eyes. “I know you’re going to. You always do. But we both know I’m not going to answer.” He turned so he was fully facing the smaller boy now. “I’m sorry I froze like that. Next time I’ll have an answer ready. Can you tell the other members? I don’t want them to ask either.”

Hyungwon sighed as he wrapped his arm around Kihyun’s shoulders and pulled the boy closer. “One day, Yoo Kihyun, I will find out what your wrist says. And why you hate it so much. But until that day comes, I guess I can stop asking about it as frequently.” He glanced down at the boy who had curled into his chest and smiled softly. 

“Fine.” Kihyun looked up at him before setting his head on Hyungwon’s shoulder. “I might tell you one day. But for now, I just want to sleep and forget soulmates exist.” Hyungwon had never agreed with the boy more. He placed his head on top of soft pink hair. He closed his eyes and tried not to picture his name scrawled across Kihyun’s wrist.


	2. Confrontation

Two in the morning and Hyungwon found himself stuck in the practice room with Changkyun. They were perfecting choreography for their upcoming shows. The shorter of the two was currently running through his steps alone as Hyungwon took a small water break. 

“Kyunnie, you should rest for a minute.” He called to the younger, who seemed not to hear. Hyungwon knew he was just choosing to ignore him. “Changkyun! You’re gonna hurt yourself if you keep going. You need to take a break!” That seemed to catch the boy’s attention as he stopped mid dance and spun to look at the brunette. 

“A short break. Then we both get back at it.” Changkyun stated as he grabbed the water bottle Hyungwon had held out for him. “I want this to be perfect.”

“It will be, don’t worry!” Both of the startled boys turned to see Jooheon walk in with a plastic bag in hand. “You guys were supposed to be back an hour ago. Kihyun got worried so I said I’d come check on you. And I brought snacks!” 

“You sure it was Kihyun that was worried and not you?” Hyungwon asked as he grabbed the bag from Jooheon’s hands to look at what he brought. If he was going to have to put up with all the sweetness that was about to happen, he was going to do it with food. 

“You know me so well!” Jooheon’s signature dimples made their appearance as he smiled. “How about you two come back with me and get some sleep? It’s late and we have a photoshoot tomorrow remember?” He looked directly at the youngest as he spoke. Hyungwon knew they were having their own silent conversation, as they usually did. As a kid he had dreamed of having a soulmate that always knew what you were thinking. Considering the fact that he didn’t have a soulmate, there wasn’t much of a chance for that to happen. 

Unlike Minhyuk and Shownu, the younger couple were much more subtle in their affection. Yet somehow, Hyungwon always seemed to be present whenever they had their moments. Like now, as Jooheon moved across the room to wrap his arms around the shorter boy and whisper into his ear. Changkyun giggled and reached up to peck the older boy’s lips. Hyungwon decided that was his cue to leave before he witnessed anything more than that. 

“Hey lovebirds, I’m gonna head home! Feel free to stay as long as you want, but remember there are cameras!” With that, Hyungwon slipped out of the practice room and started his treck back to their apartment. He missed the worried glances the other two had thrown his way as he left.  
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“You are late.” Kihyun enunciated. That was not a good sign. “And where are the other two? Jooheon was supposed to go get you, not stay there and defile my child in our practice room.”

“You can’t be mad, cuz he bought snacks and I stole them.” Hyungwon smiled and raised the bag he was holding for Kihyun to see. “I’m sorry we were out so late. Changkyun is stressing over this though, you know how he gets. Just let Jooheon be there for him.” 

Kihyun huffed as he took the bag. “He better have bought something good then.” The shorter boy set the bag down and turned back to look up at Hyungwon. “Have you ever wondered what it would be like? To have your soulmate know when you need them?” He looked hopeful, like Hyungwon’s answer could solve all his problems.

Hyungwon stared into Kihyun’s eyes as he pondered what to answer. Of course he had thought about that. He also wondered why he knew when Kihyun needed to be cheered up. And why every time he was sad, all the pink haired boy had to do was smile at him and he started to feel better. “No.” He finally replied. “As a soulmateless person, I don’t think about those things as much as you probably do. Considering your soulmate is…” He trailed off hoping the boy would spill his secret.

“That wasn’t even a good try.” Kihyun deadpanned as he finally broke their gaze and looked down. “You said you would stop.” Right, Hyungwon needed to lay off with the soulmate questions. Since their talk in the car a few days ago he had tried not to ask. But he was too curious. 

“You brought up the topic of soulmates. So really, this is your fault.” He gave a small chuckle as he saw Kihyun glare at him. “I’m sorry, I’ll stop. For real this time.” He saw the boy give him a look that perfectly said ‘I don’t trust you at all’. He got that look a lot. “Kay, I won’t stop. But that’s cuz I want to know! I told you ages ago that my wrist is blank. Why don’t you trust me?” Without noticing, he had raised his voice quite a bit.

Kihyun’s eyes widened in surprise as Hyungwon finished. Momentarily he felt bad, he hadn’t meant to come off that strong or accusing. But he wanted Kihyun to trust him with this. He had told the boy his biggest secret the same year they debuted. After Minhyuk and his parents, Kihyun had been one of the first people he had confided in. He figured telling Kihyun would help the older boy feel more comfortable with whatever secret he held under that stupid blue wristband. Three years had gone by since then and he was getting impatient. 

“Of course I trust you, don’t be stupid.” It seemed like Kihyun had composed himself. His initial shock was gone and now he just looked guarded. “I don’t want to talk about it. Why can’t you just respect that? Why do you need to know so bad?” While talking, his voice started to raise and he got closer to the taller boy. Hyungwon was tempted to step back, but held his ground. This was an argument they had all the time, and he wanted to finally win it for once. So he stepped closer.

“I just want—“ He was cut off when the front door swung open suddenly.

“We’re home!” The maknae line had walked in, holding hands. Hyungwon sighed as he moved back to put space between himself and Kihyun. He watched as Kihyun gave him one final look, before turning around to scold the younger two for being out so late. They both knew the conversation was far from over. Hyungwon would inevitably bring it up again and they would likely argue about it like they always did. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop asking. He hoped for a second that Kihyun had nothing written there, but erased that from his mind. He couldn’t wish his own suffering on Kihyun, that wasn’t fair. The pink haired boy deserved someone to love him unconditionally. 

He was brought out of his thoughts by someone placing a hand on his back. He glanced up and was met with worried dark brown eyes. He smiled, though he knew the other could tell it was fake. “We heard shouting. Everything okay?” Hyungwon could always count on Minhyuk. Even if he was destined to live without a soulmate, his best friend would always be there. He hated how often he had to remind himself of that fact. 

Said best friend was still looking at Hyungwon with concern. “Yeah, everything’s fine.” This time he smiled a little more reassuring. “Just another argument. We have them all the time, I’m sure you’re used to it. We’ll work it out, no need to worry.” Minhyuk looked unconvinced, but he dropped the subject anyway and started rubbing comforting circles onto Hyungwon’s arm. 

“You should get some sleep,” his concern slipped away as he turned to address the other three, “like I was trying to do before you guys barged in here and woke up the whole building.”

“We weren’t even that loud.” Jooheon was pouting, which meant Minhyuk would cave. The blonde did just that, but Hyungwon noticed he whispered something to Kihyun before herding the younger ones to bed. 

Hyungwon looked over to where Kihyun was standing, seemingly lost in thought. He contemplated going over and continuing their earlier conversation, but decided against it. “Hey Ki.” His soft voice made the other boy look up. “You should go to bed too. Get some rest.” Their eyes met for a second before they both quickly looked away.

“Yeah, you should too. Night Hyungwon.” With that Kihyun headed to his bedroom and left Hyungwon to his thoughts. Thoughts that were racing. But he needed to sleep so they would have to wait until tomorrow.


	3. Nothing

Nothing. That’s what Hyungwon wishes he was seeing right now. Instead he was met with a set of scars that replaced what should have been perfect tanned skin and black ink. Hyungwon could only stare in horror as the grabby photographer finally released Kihyun’s wrist. The pink haired boy froze, unable to comprehend what had just happened. At least the photographer had the decency to look apologetic. Hyungwon quickly rushed over and grabbed the blue wrist band that had fallen to the ground. He slipped it on to Kihyun’s wrist and over the scars he had tried so hard to hide.

Everything had been going well until then. The group had arrived at their photoshoot and had already finished a majority of their shots. Only their group and Kihyun’s individual photos remained. Hyungwon had noticed the photographer’s weird habit of grabbing at his right arm, close to where a soulmark should be. He thought nothing of it until he was discussing it with Wonho after finishing up his solo shoot. Wonho had yet to find his soulmate, and was the only other member other than him and Kihyun that still wore a band on his wrist. As the older told Hyungwon that the photographer had accidentally displaced the band on his wrist, he froze. There was no way Kihyun would ever be okay with someone touching his band, let alone moving it. So he spun around and ran to where the photographer was telling Kihyun how to pose. He was just about to tell them both to stop when it happened. The photographer moved to grab the pink haired boys arm and accidentally placed his hand right on the band. Kihyun had ripped his arm away as if burned, and here they were. 

Hyungwon slipped his hands up Kihyun’s arms to place it on his shoulders and gave them a squeeze. “Kihyun, it’s okay. No one saw anything. Let’s get you out of here, yeah?” Hyungwon was trying really hard not to panic. He had to stay calm for Kihyun. He gently guided the shorter boy to the back room where they got ready. Once inside he moved Kihyun to a chair and pushed him to sit. He knelt down in front of him and started rubbing his arms to comfort him. In the background he could hear the other members asking what happened, but he couldn’t answer until he knew the pink haired boy was okay. 

He saw Kihyun take a deep breath and then the two locked eyes. “I know you saw.” Never had Hyungwon seen the pink haired boy so helpless. “You can’t tell anyone, if people find out it... it will ruin us Hyungwon, groups can’t have freaks with broken marks.” Hyungwon saw tears welling up in his eyes before Kihyun put his head down to stare at his hands. 

“Kihyun, look at me.” When the shorter boy failed to comply, Hyungwon gently lifted his chin. In doing so, he caught trails of tears going down Kihyun’s face. “You aren’t a freak. And I would never tell anyone, you know that.” He grabbed Kihyun’s wrist to gently run his thumb over the scars. He kept them hidden under the blue band that didn’t seem so stupid anymore. “I won’t ask, this time I mean it. But if you need to talk about it... Keeping that a secret couldn’t have been easy, Ki.” He needed Kihyun to understand that he would always be there for him. Hyungwon noticed what he did seemed to be working. The pink haired boy’s tears had stopped and he looked a lot calmer. 

“Promise you won’t hate me? Cuz I’ve lost a lot of people over this but I don’t think I can...” The older boy trailed off as he lowered his head. 

“You won’t. Having a broken mark doesn’t change who you are Ki. Besides, if it did I would be a hypocrite.” At those words Kihyun snapped his head up and searched Hyungwon’s face, seeming to check if he was lying. “We can talk about it later okay? I think the rest of the guys want to make sure you’re okay.” 

At the mention of his other friends, Kihyun peeked around Hyungwon’s shoulder. He gave them a sheepish grin and returned his gaze back to Hyungwon. “Later then.” Almost as an afterthought he added, “Thank you, Wonnie. I don’t know what would have happened if you weren’t there.”

Hyungwon gave Kihyun’s wrist a squeeze and stood up. As Kihyun got up they were both tackled into a group hug. Hyungwon felt short arms wrap around his middle. As he wrapped his own arms around Kihyun’s small shoulders, he knew everything was going to be okay . 

He wondered for the first time if he was able to calm Kihyun down so quickly because he was rubbing his soulmark. But that would be ridiculous. That only worked for soulmates. He had tried to do the same for Minhyuk one time, but all that got was a watery laugh and more tears soaked into his shirt. It didn’t help he had been crying over the fact that he wasn’t Hyungwon’s soulmate. That had been before he fell in love with Shownu. Back when the two of them were trainees and life was much simpler. 

But now Minhyuk had a soulmate and he was happy. Much happier than he would have been if he settled for his best friend. Hyungwon was finally starting to accept that he would end up alone. As he felt Kihyun bury his head into his neck, he couldn’t help but think he might not be alone after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want a little backstory of angsty Hyunghyuk, check out part two of this series! - Kay


	4. History

“So you had a soulmate?” Hyungwon was currently sitting on Minhyuk’s bunk, across from Kihyun. The two had agreed to talk after a week of the older boy avoiding the subject. 

“I did yeah. But something happened and my mark was... damaged. Before you ask, no. I don’t remember whose name it was.” He watched Kihyun give a soft sigh and stared at his scarred wrist. “I don’t even know if there will still be a connection when we meet.”

Hyungwon couldn’t even imagine what that would be like. To know someone was out there, perfect for you in every way, but having no idea who they were. Having a name was ambiguous enough, but without one? Not to mention the possibility you lost the special connections that come with having a soulmate. He shivered at the thought. 

“Wow, Ki. That’s... I’m sorry.” When Kihyun gave him a confused look he knew he had to elaborate. “That it happened to you, whatever took your mark. I’m sorry you were going through it alone too. But you aren’t now.”

“No, I guess not.” The pink haired boy gave another small sigh and flopped back onto his bed. “You’re the only one who knows, so can we keep it that way? I’m not ready for the guys to ask a million questions. You know Minhyuk will.”

Hyungwon nodded before realizing Kihyun wasn’t looking at him. “Yeah, of course.” As an afterthought he added, “Does that mean I can’t ask any?”

Hyungwon saw Kihyun’s neck strain as he raised his head to look at the taller boy. “One. That’s it.” His head fell back down with a soft thud. 

Only one. Hyungwon had way more that only one question. How old was the boy when it happened? Obviously very young if he doesn’t remember whose name was there. Did that mean he was a baby? How did it happen? Was it a person? An accident? Had he encountered anyone before that he thought might be his lost soulmate? He had to think of the perfect question before the guarded boy changed his mind. 

“Okay, so my one and only question for now...” After seeing the defeated look on his friend’s face he changed his tactic. “Can I ask for more questions?” He was met with a look that clearly said ‘of course not, don’t be stupid’. “Well then I’m screwed. There goes my one question.”

He knew he made the right choice when he heard Kihyun’s adorable giggle. “You’re such an idiot.” The pink haired boy sat up to properly look at Hyungwon. He saw Kihyun smile fondly and could tell he didn’t really mean it. 

It was times like this Hyungwon was reminded just how beautiful their main vocalist was. His hair was a mess and he had slight bags under his eyes. His lips were chapped, probably from biting them. It was a nervous habit Hyungwon had always tried to get the older boy to break. Yet he still managed to make Hyungwon’s heart beat a little faster as their eyes met.

“We should probably go back out there. Before they start to wonder where we went.” Hyungwon knew the older was right, but he wanted to stay here and stare at Kihyun all day. Had he always been this enamoured by his friend? Was that normal? He noticed Kihyun was starting to give him a funny look and finally stopped staring. 

“Yeah, we should.” He stood up and walked over so he was standing in front of the shorter boy. He held out his hands for Kihyun to take and helped lift him up. 

Once standing, Kihyun wrapped his arms around Hyungwon’s middle and squeezed a little too tight. “Thank you... for... you know.” Before Hyungwon could hug the smaller boy back, he was already walking towards the door. Hyungwon shook his head, trying to recover from his shock, and followed him. 

While walking, he studied the boy ahead of him. He had solved one mystery, but uncovered so many more. There was time to figure it out though. The two settled onto the couch with their other members. Somehow Hyungwon ended up with Changkyun’s feet in his lap and was squished between Kihyun and Wonho.

“Where were you guys?” Jooheon asked from his spot on the floor in front of Minhyuk. Said blonde was currently cuddled up to Shownu on Kihyun’s other side. 

“Does it matter?” Hyungwon smiled at the tone Kihyun was using. It was the one he used to tell the others to drop the subject or they weren’t getting food that night. 

“Nope, just wanted you to know I notice your absence, cuz I love you sooo much!” Hyungwon laughed when the younger boy gave Kihyun a gummy smile as he tilted his head. The boy’s eyes disappeared and his dimples appeared. 

Hyungwon looked down at Kihyun and saw he was holding back a grin as he glared at the rapper. He said something in response but Hyungwon was too distracted watching the way the light from the tv was hitting his face. It made him glow and softened his normally sharp features. 

Hyungwon watched as Kihyun leaned back into the couch, the two having finished their little argument. He was still staring when the older boy turned his head as if sensing he was being watched. He gave a questioning look and Hyungwon smiled softly at him. That seemed to make the pink haired boy even more confused as he whispered a soft, “What is it?” under his breath. 

Hyungwon didn’t respond as he slipped his arm around Kihyun’s shoulders. He pulled the boy’s slim figure closer to his own and laughed at the look of shock he received. After a few seconds, Kihyun seemed to accept his fate and leaned into the embrace. 

“This is payback for the surprise hug earlier that you didn’t let me return.” He smiled down at Kihyun and was met with a small slap to his chest. He couldn’t find it in him to complain, not when he felt soft hair brush against his neck as the shorter boy settled against him. Hyungwon realized he could take a thousand unanswered questions if it meant having Kihyun wrapped up in his arms at the end of the day.


	5. Lies

_Monsta X Member Markless?_

Hyungwon could only stare at the words in horror. Shownu has called them all into the living room to show them a new article the press had put out. It was featuring their group and how one of them didn’t have a soulmark. Hyungwon assumed it was talking about him until he felt a death grip on his arm. When he had looked down to see Kihyun’s petrified expression and wide eyes staring up at him, he second guessed himself. What if the photographer had said something? Hyungwon thought their manager had dealt with his silence, so there was no way...

He was brought out of his thoughts by the grip on his arm tightening. He focused his gaze back on the shorter boy. “It’s gonna be fine.” He then turned to took back at the other members and addressed them. “Did they say who in the article?”

At this, Shownu started scrolling through the article displayed on their tv. “No, just that it’s one of you three.” He saw Shownu look at him and Kihyun and then turn to direct his next words at Wonho, “But fans will know it’s not you, they’ve seen your band slip before.” 

All eyes turned to Hyungwon and Kihyun, who was probably going to leave a bruise on Hyungwon’s arm at this point. “Then it’s obviously about me. Sorry guys I should have been more careful, someone probably saw my wrist somehow.” Hyungwon felt the grip on his arm loosen a bit at his words. 

He hoped the others would believe him, but judging by Minhyuk’s face that wasn’t the case. “You’re always so careful though. How could someone have seen you without your band? You don’t even take it off to shower Wonnie?” 

“Do I want to know how you know that?” Hyungwon was grateful to Jooheon for always trying to lighten the mood. Especially when he heard a soft sigh beside him from Kihyun. The pink haired boy was likely relieved the attention was currently off him and on the two wrestling on the floor.

“Okay guys enough. This is actually serious.” Despite his scolding, their leader had a fond expression as he watched the two. Jooheon had pushed Minhyuk off of him and slipped back onto the couch he had been pulled off of. 

“Right, okay. So, someone saw your wrist somehow? Do you have any idea who?” Eyes were once again on Hyungwon at Changkyun’s question. 

“No I don’t think... Wait... The photographer!” He hoped his acting was good enough to convince the others he had to actually think about that. “For the photoshoot we did last week. Wonho, remember how we talked about him being super grabby? He must have seen something.” 

He chanced a quick glance at Kihyun once he felt the boy’s small hand leave his arm. “That’s not...” The two locked eyes and Hyungwon knew he was going to come clean about everything. But he could also tell it was the last thing the vocal wanted to do right now. 

Hyungwon gave Kihyun a small reassuring smile and turned back to the other members. “I’m really sorry you guys, I didn’t think he saw anything.” He avoided Minhyuk’s gaze, knowing his best friend would see right through his lie. The best he could hope for was the blonde to stay silent in front of the others. 

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault. I’m more concerned about how you are, now that the public knows.” Hyungwon found himself once again grateful for how caring their leader could be. And also how gullible he was. “You have our support whether you decide to confirm or deny it.” 

He looked up to see Shownu giving him a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He noticed some of the other members were giving him the same look. He knew they were all worried about him. But he would be fine. It was better that he was slandered for being abnormal than Kihyun. 

“First step is to get this article taken down. Management is already working on that. Then we have to stop the photographer from saying anything else. I’ll get management on that as well.” Shownu always had a way of handling everything with ease. He was glad his best friend had such a strong, reliable man as his soulmate. “You will have to go through coaching on how to answer questions about this though. Best if Kihyun and Wonho go through it as well.” 

At the mention of the pink haired boy, Hyungwon looked back over to him. Kihyun was staring at Hyungwon with slight disbelief. When he noticed he had been caught staring, the shorter boy averted his gaze to the floor in front of him. 

Before he could say anything to Kihyun, he felt a hand pulling at his own. Hyungwon looked down to see Minhyuk trying to lace their fingers together, so he let him. He had expected it to be a comforting gesture. Hyungwon was surprised when Minhyuk told the rest of their members that the two needed to talk and dragged the model to his bedroom. 

The taller boy was pushed onto Minhyuk’s bed as the blond loomed over him. “Why did you lie to them?” So Hyungwon was right, his best friend had caught on.

“I didn’t, Min. It was that photographer.” He knew it was a lost cause to try and lie, but he had to try for Kihyun’s sake. He never thought anyone would make him keep secrets from Minhyuk. Yet right now, he was pretty sure he would say anything to keep the nosey boy from finding out what really happened. 

“Won. It’s just us, you don’t have to lie anymore.” When he was met with silence, Minhyuk continued. “Is it about Kihyun? Is that why he freaked out?”

Hyungwon hated how perceptive his best friend could be. “No, don’t be silly. Why would that...” He gave a sigh as he realized there was no way he could keep this up. There was no point in trying to deny it when the shorter boy had already figured things out. He just had to think of a way to spin this so Kihyun’s secret wasn’t revealed. He hung his head and gave another sigh, this was going to be difficult. 

“Look, whatever is going on,” Hyungwon felt Minhyuk lift his chin and was met with familiar pools of brown. “You can tell me. No judgement and no one else will know. You trust me right?”

Of course Hyungwon trusted him. There was no one he trusted more. He ignored the flash of soft pink hair and sharp cheekbones that popped into his head at that thought. 

Hyungwon sighed again and took hold of Minhyuk’s hand. “I know Min. It’s...” He couldn’t do this. Hyungwon needed to switch tactics so he went with the truth. “I can’t tell you. What happened with that photographer... it’s not my story to tell.”

“So it was that? But why—“

“No, no questions. I can’t lie to you. I won’t lie to you. But that means we can’t talk about it.” He squeezed Minhyuk’s hand in hopes he would be forgiven. “All I’m going to say is it’s my wrist that’s blank. And it does have something to do with Kihyun, but I can’t talk about it.”

When he was pulled into a tight embrace he knew the blonde understood. “Okay, no questions. I won’t bring it up to either of you again.” Hyungwon tucked his head into his best friend’s neck and allowed himself to finally relax. “But I’m here, for both of you, if you need to talk.” 

He never understood how he got so lucky. Meeting Minhyuk had been the greatest thing to ever happen to him and he thanked whatever god was out there for the boy. He wrapped his arms around the blond’s middle and pulled him into his lap. 

“Love you Wonnie, even if you keep things from me.” He heard the amusement in Minhyuk’s voice and knew he was okay with the secrecy. 

“Love you too.” He leaned back so he was lying down and repositioned the two into a more comfortable position. He now had the blondes head on his chest and their legs ended up in a tangled mess. 

He knew he still had to reassure Kihyun he was okay with taking this rumour as his own. But that could wait. Right now he needed his best friend to reassure him everything was going to be alright. He let himself get lost in the feeling of a hand brushing through his hair, lulling him to sleep. 

He felt at ease for the first time since finding out about Kihyun’s wrist. He knew when he woke up and Minhyuk was gone, he would start to worry again. But for now, he let himself have this. Kihyun could handle himself for a while, it wasn’t like they were soulmates. He curled himself ever closer to Minhyuk and willed himself not to ponder how wrong it had felt to think that.


	6. Truth

“Wonnie…. Hyungwon.” Hyungwon felt a hand gently shaking his shoulder. He groaned and tried to roll further into his pillow. “Hyungwon. It’s morning. You have to get up.”

If Hyungwon stayed like this, eventually Changkyun would give up. Everyone always did except— “CHAE HYUNGWON, YOU GET UP RIGHT NOW!” He forgot how annoying Kihyun could be in the mornings. 

“Lemme sleep.” He wasn’t sure if anyone heard him, given how his face was smushed into the pillow, but he didn’t care right now. 

“Changkyun go get something to eat, I made breakfast. I got this.” He heard Changkyun mumble something that sounded suspiciously like ‘Both of you better come out of here alive’ and then the door shut softly. 

“Okay Hyungwon, actually get up now. I need to talk to you about last night.” At the serious tone the pink haired boy was using, Hyungwon willed himself more awake. 

He sat up and blinked sleepily at the shorter boy. Kihyun had sat down on the edge of the bed. It was then he remembered what had happened last night and realized he was still in Minhyuk’s bed. He rubbed his eyes and stretched, noticing the way Kihyun’s eyes trailed to the exposed bit of stomach the gesture had caused. He chose not to mention that fact and smiled a little to himself, before turning his attention to the vocal. 

“Yeah, we should probably talk. Do we have time now?” He glanced at the clock and noticed they had about half an hour before they had to meet their manager. Today would be the day their pr training started. Hyungwon groaned just thinking about how long and boring that would be.

“If it’s a quick chat, yeah we should. What did you tell Minhyuk after he dragged you in here?” Hyungwon blamed it on his half asleep brain when he reached out to brush soft pink bangs out of the way and smooth his thumb over the worry lines on Kihyun’s forehead. He didn’t know what to blame the shorter boy’s reaction on though, as he leaned into Hyungwon’s large hand. He seemed to catch himself quickly and jerked his head back. 

He sighed and scooted back until he could lean against the wall. He let his head fall against it and looked at Kihyun, who was avoiding his eyes. “I told him I couldn’t say anything but that it was my wrist that was blank. So he knows something happened, but he also knows not to ask about it.” 

He saw Kihyun relax a little and felt a hand on his wrist. He watched as the shorter boy slipped his thumb under his dark green band and started methodically rubbing where a mark should be. “Thank you. You didn’t have to lie to them for me.” Hyungwon moved his eyes from Kihyun’s small hand on his skin to the boy’s face. He was met with a soft, grateful smile. 

He knew he didn’t have to lie, but for some reason he wanted to. He would do anything for the boy in front of him. “Don’t worry about it Ki.” He felt himself getting lost in the older’s touch and started slipping back into sleep. He jerked awake when the warmth was removed and a light slap hit his shoulder. 

He glared at Kihyun and waited for the nagging he knew was coming. “I’m trying to have a serious conversation here and you’re falling back asleep?” The slight laugh in his voice and amused look told Hyungwon there were no hard feelings. “Wonnie, I mean it okay? Thank you. This is not going to be easy. So just… promise me if it gets to be too much, you’ll come talk to me?” Kihyun cupped his cheek and directed their gazes to meet. “Don’t go through this alone, please?”

Hyungwon had never received so much affection from the normally closed off boy. He leaned into the warm hand and lost himself in the dark brown eyes boring into his own. He saw Kihyun lean in slightly and felt himself doing the same. He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when Kihyun broke their eye contact and removed his hand. The pink haired boy moved closer and set his head against Hyungwon’s chest. What was he thinking? No way Kihyun was going to kiss him. And why had he wanted it so much? He shook those thoughts from his head and wrapped his arms around his friend. 

“Hey Kihyun?” Said boy shifted so that he was looking up at Hyungwon with a questioning gaze. “Thanks. I’m glad I have you. And try not to worry about this. Someone would have found out about my wrist either way. Plus, the guys already knew about it.” His words seemed to put the boy’s mind at ease as he shifted to be more comfortable in Hyungwon’s long arms. 

The two spent a few minutes enjoying the other’s company when Kihyun suddenly pulled away. Hyungwon looked to him in confusion and waited for an explanation. He tried not to miss the warmth and comforting weight the other boy had taken from him.

“I told myself I would never tell anyone this story. But… I trust you, and you deserve to know.” Hyungwon noticed the determined look in Kihyun’s eyes, so he stayed silent in hopes of not disrupting him. The shorter boy took a deep breath before he continued. “You probably wondered why I have all those scars on my wrist?” Kihyun looked at him expectantly so he nodded. “When I was little, almost four, my mother passed away. I don’t really remember her so I can’t say I miss her much. But I always wonder what life would have been like if she hadn’t died.” 

Kihyun looked down and Hyungwon reached out to give his arm a comforting squeeze. “Hey, you don’t have to tell me this Ki. If it’s too hard—“

He was cut off by Kihyun grabbing his hand to silence him. “No, I need to tell you. I can do this.” He wondered who Kihyun was trying to reassure. “Anyway. So my dad took her death really hard. Started drinking and getting more aggressive. I was young, so I don’t really remember that either. But…” The older boy squeezed his hand tighter. “As I got older, some of those memories are clearer. One night, when I was six, he was screaming at me for… For having something he couldn’t.”

Hyungwon saw Kihyun stare at his wrist so he moved the hand from the boys arm to once again rub over the scars there. “He did this to you? Because he was… Jealous?” Hyungwon couldn’t believe a parent could be that cruel. How could someone hurt their own child? He tried to keep the shock and anger out of his voice and used a more comforting tone. “Ki, what he did… I’m so sorry.”

Kihyun gave a bitter laugh and looked up at him. “It’s not your fault. He was losing his mind and alcohol makes you do crazy things. He apologized after, once he was sober. But the pain…” A few tears fell down his face and Hyungwon disconnected their hands to brush them away. “It was like nothing I’d ever experienced. It felt like someone had ripped out half my heart. The worst part of it though…” He looked into Hyungwon’s eyes. “It was like I could feel my soulmate’s pain too. And then suddenly I couldn’t. Like they were gone and our connection was broken. I can still feel them now, but it’s so faint, I wonder if it’s just wishful thinking. And I’m never going to find them, Wonnie. I hurt them so much, at such a young age and now I’ll never find them.” 

Hyungwon pulled the shorter boy into his lap and wrapped his arms tightly around his back. He felt tears of his own as he whispered words of comfort to the now sobbing boy. In that moment, he wished he could take all of Kihyun’s hurt away. He wished he could go back in time and stop anything bad from ever happening to him. Kihyun was the last person to deserve this. 

Hyungwon continued to comfort Kihyun until he felt the pink haired boy’s breathing even out and his tears stop. He ran his fingers through soft pink locks and looked down to see that Kihyun had cried himself to sleep. He must have stayed awake all night worrying. Hyungwon cursed himself for being selfish and not going to talk to the older. He moved so that Kihyun was resting more comfortably and continued to play with his hair. 

He heard the door creak open and Shownu popped his head in. “Hey, you guys almost ready?” When he saw their position, he stepped fully into the room and closed the door behind him. “Everything alright? Why is Kihyun asleep?”

He gave the older boy a weak smile. “It’s a long story. But do you think you could reschedule everything until tomorrow? I think he needs some rest and I don’t want to move him.”

Shownu hesitated before sighing. “Fine. But only because it’s Kihyun and he doesn’t normally ask for days off. You’ll both have to do extra tomorrow though.”

He thanked Shownu and watched their leader leave the room. He turned his attention to Kihyun and pondered what it could have been like for the boy to lose his connection. He vowed to never let Kihyun feel that hurt again. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall. Hyungwon thought back on Kihyun’s words, how he described imagining his soulmate’s feelings. Hyungwon had thought the same thing so many times. As he looked back down to Kihyun’s worried face he tried to send the boy his own feelings of comfort and happiness. He figured it was a coincidence that the crease in Kihyun’s brow disappeared and a small smile displayed itself on his softening features.


	7. Fangirl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's a little different, hope you guys like it! - Kay

_A lot of you have been hearing rumours that one of our members doesn’t have a soulmark. I was debating whether or not to deny these rumours, but I don’t want to hide anything from our Monbebe. They are true, I was born without a mark. For all those out there who are like me, know that you are not alone. I’m sorry to have deceived you all for so long. I hope you continue to love Monsta X, and our music. We couldn’t do this without your support! Sincerely, Chae Hyungwon ___

____

__Tears hit her phone screen as Soohyun read Hyungwon’s latest fancafe post. Her poor Hyungwon was suffering and felt he had to apologize for something he couldn’t control. She needed to help him through this, but how? If only she was his soulmate. Then she could comfort him when everyone else turned their backs on him._ _

__She reread the post. She had been late to reading it. He had posted over ten minutes ago. How could she have missed the notification? He needed her love right now! Soohyun quickly typed up a comment telling him how much she supports him and how she would always be there for him. Other people didn’t understand the tall, godlike man the way she did._ _

__Soohyun looked down to her own blank wrist and ran her thumb over it. If Hyungwon really didn’t have a mark, then that was one more thing they had in common. She laughed to herself, thinking of how long the list was. For two people who didn’t have soulmates, they sure seemed perfect for each other. If only there was some way she could show Hyungwon that._ _

__“What if I... No that’s crazy... I can’t do that!” Soohyun quietly mumbled under her breath. She gave a small laugh. There was no way she could do what she had thought of. Or could she? If it meant she was there for Hyungwon, then maybe it would be okay? He would never find out._ _

__Soohyun gave a small shrug and typed “soulmark tattoo places” into her phone’s search bar. She must have spent hours going through over a hundred different places. Most of the tattoo shops said they wouldn’t do soulmarks._ _

__Just as she suspected. There was no way she could get away with this. The only places that offered to do the soulmark tattoos were questionable looking, or in America. Hyungwon was worth the risk. Just when she was about to settle for a really creepy looking place, she saw something wonderful. A huge grin split across her face as she quickly clicked the link._ _

__The name Wasowski had drawn her attention. As she looked at the shop’s home page, she knew it was perfect. There was no way two people with that last name in Korea weren’t related. Her classmate Jessi had the same one, which meant this guy was probably her dad or uncle, didn’t matter. Either way she knew the place would be safer than any others._ _

__Soohyun went about setting up an appointment, only to discover the wait was three years. That wouldn’t do, Hyungwon needed her now! She’d just have to ask Jessi then. Surely if she offered some extra cash the girl would help her skip the line._ _

__It was settled then. Tomorrow she would find Jessi and convince her to help. Then she could finally be with her dream man. She sighed thinking about him. His perfect, thick lips and his chestnut eyes that sparkled just right. He would be so much taller than her, what with her only being 161cm. The perfect height difference._ _

__She knew she could match him visually as well. She wasn’t naive, Soohyun knew she was pretty. Everyone had always told her as such. At first she didn’t believe them. She had a bit of a belly and her nose was a little big. It’s amazing what money can buy you and she thanked her lucky stars she was born into a rich family. Some dieting pills and a few surgeries later and here she was. The most beautiful girl in her class. But it was worth it. Someone like Hyungwon deserved the best. And she would do anything to be in league with him. The fake soulmark would just help speed things along._ _

__Soohyun went back to the fancafe post. This time when she read, it brought a smile to her face, not tears._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for making you wait so long for such a short chapter! More will be on the way soon. - Kay


	8. Dream?

“Okay! That was great guys. Take a fifteen minute break and then we can get back at it.” Hyungwon slumped to the ground at his leader’s words. He flattened out on his back and tried to absorb the cold from their wooden floor.

Once his breathing slowed down and sweat had stopped pouring off him, he slowly sat up and assessed the others around him. Minhyuk was currently hanging off his soulmate by the mirrors, no doubt trying to get them extra break time. The two rappers had already left to get drinks for them. Wonho was lying flat on his back as well, but had his head turned to look at Kihyun, who was sitting against the far wall. The two seemed to be in a deep conversation about something.

With his members distracted, Hyungwon got up and slipped out of the room. He needed to clear his head and figured splashing some water on his face might help cool him off. He thought he had made it out unnoticed, but was proven wrong when a hand on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks. 

“Wonnie, hey.” He turned to see Minhyuk looking at him with concern. “What’s going on? You’ve been so distracted today.”

Hyungwon glanced around to make sure no one followed them. He pulled his arm out of the blonde’s grasp so he could rub at his wrist. He noticed his friend’s gaze land there before coming back up to meet his eyes. 

“I uh… I had a dream last night…” He sighed and debated if he should tell Minhyuk the whole dream. His best friend had a tendency to jump to conclusions too quickly and he wanted to avoid that. 

“Well? Tell me!” Minhyuk grabbed his shoulders and shook him slightly. “Was it a good dream? Your face kind of tells me no?” Minhyuk’s expression dropped, as did his arms from Hyungwon’s shoulders. 

“In my dream…” He glanced around again, just to be sure no one had snuck up on them. When he saw no one, he continued. “I was younger, probably around six or seven. And I had a name on my wrist, but it was blurred so I couldn’t see what it said.”

“Wait, what?” His story was interrupted by Minhyuk regaining his excitement and grabbing both his hands. “Really? Wonnie you don’t think—” 

“I don’t know, will you let me finish?” The blonde nodded his head vigorously and Hyungwon took that as a sign he would be quiet. “Well, I don’t know why but… I got this searing pain in my wrist, right where the mark was. And I saw it get… I don’t know how to describe it… erased? Like it slowly started to disappear one letter at a time. And when the last letter was gone, so was the pain. Then I woke up. But it… it felt so real Min. Like it actually happened.” 

“DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS!” Hyungwon had to step back from the volume of his friend’s yell. “HYUNGWON YOU—“ 

Hyungwon stopped his friend by clamping a hand over his mouth. “Don’t be so loud!” He felt something wet touch his palm and pulled his hand away. “You have to stop doing that, it’s disgusting.”

Minhyuk stuck his tongue out at him. “Then stop putting your hand over my mouth. And don’t change the subject! Wonnie you could have a soulmate! What if that _was_ an actual memory!”

Hyungwon sighed. He knew the conclusion his best friend would come to, but he had been avoiding that thought. “If I had a soulmate, don’t you think my parents would have told me? Why would they keep that a secret?”

Minhyuk shook his head and grabbed Hyungwon’s shoulders. “How else can you explain this? It’s so specific! And it fits perfectly! I thought you wanted a soulmate, why are you so quick to dismiss this?”

Hyungwon lowered his head and looked at their feet. “I just… I don’t want to get my hopes up Minhyuk and this… Maybe it was wishful thinking, you know?”

Minhyuk squeezed his shoulders to get his attention. When Hyungwon looked back up he saw a determined look on the singer’s face. “There’s only one way to find out right?” At Hyungwon’s confused look, he continued. “Your parents Hyungwon! We should call them and ask.”

Hyungwon would be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about that. But he was afraid of what they would say. If he had a soulmate, would they tell him their name? And if so, would he be happy with what he was given?

“No, Min I’m not ready for that yet. Let me just… Let me think about this for a little while longer. Maybe it was just a crazy dream.” He gave Minhyuk a hopeful look. Maybe he would be a good friend for once and let this go.

“Fine.” Hyungwon hadn’t actually expected that. “I will give you a week to sort yourself out. But when that week is up, we are visiting your parents and we are finding out who your soulmate is!” He glared at the blonde and Minhyuk just laughed at him. “We are finding out _if_ you have a soulmate. Better?”

“Much.” He smiled at Minhyuk and then slipped his arm around the shorter boy’s shoulders. “Come on, we should get back before your boyfriend makes us stay an extra hour.” 

When the two boys made it back to the practice room, they failed to notice Kihyun slip in behind them. 

“Now that everyone is back, let’s get started again.”  
__________________________________________________________________________

“Looks good you guys!” There was a collective sigh of relief from all the members at their leader’s words. “I think it’s time to head back to the dorms, get some rest.”

Hyungwon watched as Jooheon and Minhyuk raced each other out the door. No doubt trying to beat the other home to get in the shower first. He saw Changkyun chuckle before grabbing Wonho’s hand and dragging him after them.

“I’m gonna stay here and work on this a little longer. Hyungwon, can you stay and help me?” Both Shownu and Hyungwon must have looked confused, as Kihyun explained further, “I just think Hyungwon will give me a more honest opinion, since he’s not afraid to be a jerk. And you look really tired Shownu.” 

Hyungwon looked over to the older boy and noticed that he did look exhausted. “You okay with that Hyungwon?” He glanced at the door in longing. When he turned back to the other two, he gave a small nod. “Alright, sounds good. Don’t work yourselves too hard.” 

With a smile and a pat on the back, Shownu left the two alone. Hyungwon watched as Kihyun seemed to have an inner battle with himself. The shorter boy fidgeted with the hem of his shirt and shuffled his feet. He was also biting his lip in worry. 

“You going to tell me what part you need help with, or are we going to stand here all night?” That snapped Kihyun out of his thoughts. The pink haired boy shook his head and seemed to gain some confidence. He stepped into Hyungwon’s space till their chests were almost touching and he could feel heat radiating off of the boy in front of him.

“I don’t actually need help. And if I did, I certainly wouldn’t have asked you.” He gave an offended look and made to step back. Kihyun had other ideas, as he grabbed Hyungwon’s shoulders to keep him in place. “No, we need to talk.”

“About what?” He felt the grip on his shoulders tighten. “Ki, you’re interrupting my sleep time. So it better be important or I’m gonna be extra cranky tomorrow and you guys are gonna have to deal with that. Not to mention the effort you’re going to have to put in just to wake me up...”

He trailed off when Kihyun sighed and let go of him. “I heard you.”

“You heard... what?” Hyungwon tried to figure out what he meant, but was drawing a blank. 

Hyungwon noticed how Kihyun was avoiding his eyes. “Earlier. With Minhyuk.” 

Hyungwon’s eyes widened in shock and he started to panic. “What? No! What did you hear?” He stepped closer to Kihyun and silently willed the older boy to be lying. He had been so careful. How had he heard anything?

“You failed to realize someone could have been around the corner, didn’t you?” Kihyun gave him a fond smirk and Hyungwon mentally facepalmed. He felt a hand lightly grab his own but didn’t risk looking away from Kihyun’s face. “I heard everything, Hyungwon.” 

“It’s not...” He sighed and interlaced their fingers. Kihyun ran his thumb over the back of Hyungwon’s hand. 

Kihyun finally looked into Hyungwon’s eyes and seemed to search for something. “If it was real... If that was a memory...” The shorter boy broke their locked eyes and glanced around them. He must have been checking they were still alone.

“Ki, I don’t know if it was. Maybe hearing what happened to you influenced my wishful thinking and this is all just what I want to happen?” He let his head fall forward so their foreheads were resting on each other. “There’s no way I actually have a soulmate, Ki. Not like you do.”

Kihyun laced their other hands and leaned more into Hyungwon. “But what if it was real?” Hyungwon couldn’t figure out why Kihyun looked so hopeful. Why would Hyungwon having a soulmate matter so much to him? “What if we—“ Kihyun cut himself off and took a few steps back. The shorter boy was shaking his head as if to clear whatever that thought had been.

Hyungwon pulled him back by their joined hands. The two boys stood frozen, as if lost in each other’s eyes. He hadn’t realized how close their faces had gotten until he saw Kihyun’s gaze travel to his lips and back up to his eyes. “What if we what, Kihyun?” 

He noticed a shiver run through the smaller boy at his words. Hyungwon’s eyes fluttered closed and he instinctively leaned in. He felt the ghost of a touch on his lips before a loud squeal made the two boys jump apart. 

They turned to see a sheepish Wonho standing in the doorway rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt!” The big smile that broke out on the muscular boy’s face said otherwise.

“You weren’t interrupting anything. We were just about to leave actually.” Kihyun seemed to have gathered himself much faster than Hyungwon. He was still trying to process what had just happened. Had they been about to kiss? Had they kissed? Hyungwon reached up to touch his lips and lost himself in the thought of what might have happened if Wonho hadn’t interrupted them. He glanced over to where Kihyun had been, only to see the pink haired boy wasn’t there. Hyungwon looked around for him, but the shorter boy was nowhere to be found. 

“He left, Hyungwon. Said he was heading back to the dorms.” Wonho stepped up and wrapped his arm around Hyungwon’s shoulders to guide him towards the door. “We should do the same.”

He nodded and leaned into the older boy’s embrace. “Yeah, sorry. I’m kinda out of it.”

“I ruined that for you guys didn’t I? I tried not to, but I’ve been rooting for you two to get together for a while now.” Wonho gave him an apologetic look but Hyungwon just waved it off.

“It’s better this way. Kihyun has a soulmate out there somewhere and us doing anything... It would only complicate things.” He told himself that this was for the best. There was no way him and Kihyun were soulmates. Hyungwon didn’t have one and Kihyun would find his someday. That’s just how things worked. Whatever feelings he had for the vocal would only complicate their already delicate friendship. 

He felt the arm around his shoulder tighten slightly as they walked. “You deserve a happy ending too, Hyungwon.” He glanced at Wonho and saw a bright smile gracing his handsome face. “Not everyone ends up with their soulmate. If you and Kihyun have feelings for each other, maybe it can work out.”

For a second Hyungwon let himself believe that. Maybe, even if Kihyun had a soulmate, they could make this work. He reminded himself to go to the older boy for comfort more often. He wrapped his arms around Wonho’s middle and leaned down so his head was resting on the older’s strong shoulder. Wonho pressed a kiss to the top of his head. 

“Thanks, Hoseok. I needed this.” Hyungwon smiled up at his friend and hugged him tighter. He still wasn’t sure his exact feelings for Kihyun, but he had time to figure it out. As he hugged Wonho closer, he felt safe and warm despite the cold night air.


	9. Suspicion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! Just a heads up, this chapter has a new pov! - Kay

“You don’t understand! I need to get in there!”

Changkyun sighed as he heard a high pitched screech from ahead. He rolled his eyes at Wonho as they approached the company building. The two had a few things to record for their upcoming comeback and decided to get it done in their free time. The rest of the members had opted to stay home and get some much needed rest. That was probably for the best, if the shrieking girl was another crazed fan trying to meet them. 

Wonho just laughed and placed his arm around the young rapper’s shoulders. “Come on Changkyun, I’m sure there’s a reason for her hysterics. Maybe she’s nice?” Changkyun gave him an exasperated look and Wonho laughed louder. “What? She’s cute! I always tell you guys, a crazy Monbebe is still a Monbebe. And if she’s a fan then the least we can do is sign something and get her to stop harassing that poor guy.” 

At those words Changkyun looked over to see a tiny girl practically climbing one of the guards. “Lady! I already told you, fans aren’t allowed in there.” That guard needed a raise for the patience he had right now. 

“And I told you I’m not a fan! I’m his soulmate! I need to see him!” His soulmate? Whose soulmate? Changkyun turned to Wonho and the two exchanged a confused look before they jogged over to see what was happening. 

“Excuse me. What exactly is going on? Anything we can help with?” The girl dropped from the tall guard and spun so quickly Changkyun thought she was going to fall over. 

“OH MY GO— I mean hi! Hello! I’m— Wow! I mean, I’m not Wow. You’re wow! Look at you!” Changkyun watched as the girl changed her demeanour instantly at the sight of Wonho. She was definitely a fan then. The girl before them was beautiful, Changkyun had to give her that. Her long brown hair was curled perfectly and the rapper could tell she had spent a lot of time on her appearance.

Wonho chuckled beside him and stepped up to the short girl. He held out his hand and the girl looked like she was going to faint. “Pleasure to meet you...” 

“Soohyun! My name is Soohyun! And you’re actually real and here. I must be dreaming. Am I dreaming?” The girl, Soohyun, still looked like she would faint at any moment. 

“Soohyun. A beautiful name to match such a beautiful girl.” Changkyun wanted to laugh at Wonho’s cheesiness. He wished that was just a show his friend put on for the fans, but the singer was actually like that. 

He watched the girl giggle into her small, manicured hand. Maybe she wasn’t as bad as Changkyun had originally thought. She had seemed to calm down a bit since Wonho had first addressed her. 

Changkyun put on a practiced smile and addressed the brunette. “So what brings you here, Soohyun?” 

For the first time since their arrival, Soohyun turned to look at Changkyun. She gave him a small smile and without a word pulled up her sleeve. Changkyun gasped at the words on her wrist. 

_Hyungwon Chae_

There was no way. Hyungwon had a blank wrist. Didn’t he? Changkyun turned to Wonho in confusion and saw that the older boy was equally as baffled. Changkyun reached out and pulled the girl’s wrist closer to inspect it. 

“How...” Changkyun heard Wonho whisper under his breath. He felt the taller boy step up behind him and peer over his shoulder to look at the mark.

“There’s no way this is real.” Changkyun dropped Soohyun’s wrist and stepped back, causing him to bump into Wonho’s chest. 

Changkyun took comfort in the hand Wonho placed on the small of his back. The older boy then addressed Soohyun. “I don’t know what you want, but this is not okay. You can’t fake a mark like that.” Soohyun shook her head, but Wonho didn’t let her interject. “No, you get rid of that fake mark right now. And you need to leave.” Changkyun had never seen Wonho get angry at a fan before. He felt like he should be the one comforting the older boy.

“I’m sorry! But this isn’t fake, I swear!” Changkyun gave her a skeptical look and stared back down at the wrist she was cradling. 

“Why should we believe you? Hyungwon doesn’t have a soulmate.” Changkyun flinched as Wonho’s hand slide from his back to his waist and squeezed a little too tight. 

“I promise, this is real! I can prove it, I just need to meet him!” Soohyun seemed to be getting frantic again.

“No. He doesn’t have a soulmate. So that’s either fake, or you have the wrong Chae Hyungwon.” Changkyun almost felt bad for the girl now. Wonho was giving her an icy stare and Soohyun looked like she was going to cry. 

“Please! I have to see him, I...” There went the tears. Changkyun stepped forward and put his hand on her shoulder. 

“Hey, don’t cry! It’s okay.” He glanced back at Wonho and saw him looking slightly apologetic. “Look we can sort this out. Wonho’s just really protective, ‘cuz he loves Hyungwon so much. He’s not normally like this.” 

Soohyun seemed to collect herself and she wiped the tears off her face. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be this emotional. I just feel like I’m so close to being with him. And I need to meet him you know? He’s my soulmate.” The brunette looked pleadingly at the two boys. “I know you don’t trust me, but please! Don’t you have a soulmate? Don’t you know what it feels like?”

Changkyun dropped his hand from the girls slim shoulder and rubbed his mark. He felt a wave of happiness and smiled despite the tense air around him. Jooheon must have sensed his unease and was trying to comfort him. 

Changkyun heard a sigh behind him and looked to see Wonho run a and through his hair. “I’m sorry, that was really rude of me. I’m sure you meant no harm. This is just a really touchy subject. May I see your wrist properly?”

Soohyun nodded and Wonho took her wrist in his hands. “I don’t blame you for being skeptical. But I would never hurt Hyungwon. I only want to make him happy.” 

Changkyun pondered those words. If this girl was who she said she was, why had it taken her this long to come here? Their company building’s address wasn’t exactly a secret. And they had been idols for over two years now. Soohyun was obviously a fan of Wonho’s, given her strong reaction to seeing him. There was no denying that mark though. It was definitely Hyungwon’s signature. Changkyun was sure he had seen all of his group member’s signatures enough to be able to spot a fake one. 

He was brought out of his thoughts when Wonho grabbed his shoulders and gently pushed him to walk backwards. Changkyun looked over the taller boy’s shoulder to alert Soohyun on what was happening. “Sorry, we need to discuss this before we do anything. Give us a minute?” He saw her nod and turned his attention back to Wonho.

Changkyun stopped once he deemed them far enough that she couldn’t hear their whispered conversation. He placed his hand on Wonho’s shoulder and rubbed his arm in a comforting manner. 

“I don’t trust her.” Changkyun dropped his hand and sighed at his words. “I know I’m being unreasonable and we should give her the benefit of the doubt. But Changkyun, this isn’t something we can afford to be wrong about.”

Changkyun wasn’t sure what Wonho meant. He understood soulmates were a sensitive subject, especially for Hyungwon. But if the boy had a potential soulmate, he needed to know about it. He was about to tell Wonho as such, when he was stopped by said boy grabbing his shoulders tightly. 

“Hyungwon can’t handle thinking he has a soulmate to have that taken away from him.” Wonho squeezed his shoulders. “Kyunnie if this girl is lying... I can’t take her to him. Not to mention what that would do to Kihyun.” 

“What does Kihyun have to do with this?” Changkyun knew the two had something going on, but he didn’t think it was anything more than flirting. “Even if they have feelings for each other, you can’t deny someone from meeting their soulmate Wonho. That’s not fair.”

“I know, I just...” Wonho sighed and dropped his arms to wrap them around himself. “I don’t want either of them to get hurt. After what happened with you... Kyunnie, I don’t want to see either of them in pain because of their soulmarks.”

Changkyun grabbed Wonho’s forearm with both hands and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Everything worked out for me. I’m happier than I’ve ever been Hoseok. _Because_ I’m with my soulmate. Hyungwon might have that chance now. To be as happy as I am. I’m not going to deny him of that and you shouldn’t either.”

Wonho nodded and his bangs fell into his face as he looked to the ground. “You’re right. I know you’re right but...”

“Hey.” Wonho looked back up and met his eyes. “Not all soulmates end up together, remember? You used to tell me that all the time. If Kihyun and Hyungwon are really meant to be, then this girl,” He gestured behind him to Soohyun, who was still standing there waiting patiently. “She won’t matter. But she deserves a chance. Even if we don’t like her.”

Wonho gave a long sigh and let his head fall into Changkyun’s chest. “I’m supposed to be the older, wiser one here.” 

Changkyun gave a small laugh and wrapped his arms around the taller boy’s muscular back. “It’ll all work out Hoseok. It always does.”


	10. Interruption

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hyungwon is back! - Kay  
> And better than ever! - Jay

It had been four days since him and Kihyun had almost-sort-of kissed. Four long days of Hyungwon trying to understand what exactly he felt for the pink haired boy. He sighed and flipped over on his bed to bury his head in his pillow.

“Dramatic much?” Hyungwon felt the bed dip and a hand lightly touch his shoulder before the owner retracted it. He turned his head to the side and saw Kihyun smiling fondly down at him. “Can we talk?”

Hyungwon smushed his face back into the pillow and groaned. He wasn’t ready for this conversation yet. But it seemed Kihyun was, and there was no telling when they would get the opportunity to be alone again.

He sat up and gave Kihyun a small smile. “Course we can talk, what’s up?” 

“I... I need to tell you something.” Kihyun reached forward and laced their fingers together. “After, if you want, we can pretend it never happened. But I can’t hold this in any longer.” 

The older boy took a deep breath and Hyungwon saw him have an internal debate. Whatever this was, it must be really serious. He let go of one of Kihyun’s hands to shift closer and run his own along the smaller boy’s arm soothingly. 

Kihyun used his free hand to cup Hyungwon’s face and ran his thumb along his sharp cheekbone. Hyungwon leaned into the touch and felt Kihyun guide him closer. He saw Kihyun’s eyes flutter closed and felt himself do the same. Their noses brushed and Hyungwon wanted nothing more then to close the distance between their lips. 

“Kihyun.” His voice was barely above a whisper, but it was enough to snap the older boy out of his trance. Kihyun’s eyes opened in shock as he pulled back and dropped his hand. 

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.” A look of uncertainty crossed Kihyun’s face before he looked down at his lap. “This was supposed to be me telling you how I felt, not me trying to kiss you.”

Hyungwon shook his head and rubbed the back of Kihyun’s hand. “Kihyun, will you look at me?” When he got no response he tried again. “Please? What if... What if I wanted you to kiss me?” The shorter boy’s head shot up and their eyes met. Kihyun seemed to be searching his face for any hint he was lying. 

“Do you? Want me to?” Hyungwon nodded and moved his hand from Kihyun’s arm to the back of his neck. 

He played with soft pink hair as he stared into Kihyun’s deep brown eyes. He pulled the shorter boy’s head towards him, and once again they were close enough for Hyungwon to feel Kihyun’s breath on his face. He felt a soft press of lips on his own and suddenly everything felt right. Kihyun wrapped his arms around Hyungwon’s neck to pull him closer and deepen the kiss. 

At the sound of someone fake coughing, they both pulled away slightly. Kihyun rested their foreheads together and gave him one of the most beautiful smiles Hyungwon had ever seen. He returned it with one of his own and ran his hand through the vocal’s hair. Hyungwon tried to catch his breath as he got lost in Kihyun’s eyes again. At the sound of someone clearing their throat, he remembered why they stopped in the first place.

“Sorry guys, but Changkyun’s on the phone and it sounds important.” Hyungwon turned his head to see Shownu standing in the doorway smirking at them. “He said he tried to call you, Hyungwon, but you weren’t answering. Now I know why.” The two boys noticed their proximity and shifted away from each other. 

The eldest tossed his phone to Hyungwon and laughed when it hit him in chest. “Ow, rude.” He heard Kihyun giggle and shot him a glare. He didn’t care how great Kihyun looked with his lips all swollen and his hair ruffled from their kiss. He had no right to laugh at Hyungwon’s pain. When all he received was a big smile that made Kihyun’s eyes disappear, he got over it pretty quickly. 

Hyungwon laced one hand with Kihyun’s and picked up Shownu’s phone with the other. “Hey Changkyun, you’re on speaker. What did you need?”

“Hey Wonnie and whoever else is there. I need you to come to the company building. There’s someone here you should meet.”

Hyungwon wasn’t sure what it was, but Changkyun sounded off. Like he was hiding something. “Right now?”

“Yeah, as soon as you can.”

He nodded before he realized the rapper couldn’t see him. “Sure, let me just get dressed and I’ll be right there.”

“Alright, see you soon.”

Before Hyungwon could respond, the younger boy had already hung up on him.

He glanced up at Shownu for an explanation, but their leader just shrugged at him. “I have no idea who he’s talking about. But I’ll give you two a minute alone and then we can head over, okay?” 

“You’re gonna come?” He saw Shownu nod and gave the older boy a grateful smile. 

“Before you leave, can you just promise you won’t say anything about this.” Hyungwon knew Kihyun was gesturing between the two of them without having to look. “Just until we’ve talked and figured things out?”

“Of course. I’ll let you tell them when you’re ready.” Hyungwon was glad it was Shownu who had walked in on them and not another member. Had it been Jooheon or Minhyuk, the rest of their group would have heard about it by now. 

“Thanks Shownu.” Hyungwon felt Kihyun relax beside him.

Shownu made to leave, and was almost out the door, before he turned back to the two of them. “I’m really happy for you guys. Congrats on whatever this turns out to be.” With one last smile their leader was gone, closing the door behind him.

“We should get ready. And after we meet this mystery person, was can discuss all of this.” Hyungwon stood up and stretched his back before holding his hands out for Kihyun to take. 

“We? Am I going with you?” Kihyun let Hyungwon pull him up and raised an eyebrow questioningly at him. His smirk told Hyungwon he already knew the answer. 

He slipped his arms around Kihyun’s waist and pulled him as close as he could. “You don’t have to. But if you do, then maybe we can sneak in a few kisses?”

Kihyun laughed as he wrapped his arms around Hyungwon’s neck and pulled the taller boy down to peck him on the lips. “Sounds good, I’ll go get ready.” He received another small kiss before Kihyun slipped out of his arms and left the room. 

Hyungwon flopped onto his bed and let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He had never felt this much joy, it was like he was floating. His whole world felt complete.


	11. Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been so long! Sorry for the wait guys, but hopefully this makes up for it! - Kay

“Hyungwon you’re here!” He had no better warning before he was tackled into a hug. Arms wrapped around him and he would have fallen backwards had it not been for those same strong arms holding him up.

“Hey Hoseok.” He smiled up at the older boy and returned the hug briefly before standing up again and pushing him away. “Do you know who Changkyun wants me to meet?”

He saw Wonho flinch slightly and wondered why. “I do, yeah. They’re in one of the meeting rooms. I came down to take you to it. I see you brought everyone else?” 

Hyungwon glanced behind him and nodded. “They all invited themselves.” He felt a light slap to his shoulder and laughed. “Except Kihyun, I invited him.”

“Right, okay. Well we should go up there then. All of us.” Hyungwon thought he saw Wonho glance nervously between him and Kihyun, but played it off as his imagination. There was no way he knew about them yet. Unless Shownu said something, but their leader would never do that. 

He felt a hand slip into his own as he walked and immediately his worries were gone. He looked down to see the top of Kihyun’s head. He smiled to himself and followed Wonho to the elevator. 

If the others had noticed their joined hands, they didn’t mention it. Once in the elevator, he caught Minhyuk smirking at them. Hyungwon shot him a subtle glare, which the blonde smiled fondly at, before turning to Shownu. 

They all followed Wonho out of the elevator and down a long, empty hallway. Today was a weekend, so not many people were working. It felt eerie and Hyungwon instinctively stepped closer to Kihyun. He had suddenly been hit with a wave of nerves as the hallway seemed to stretch on forever. 

Wonho stopped in front of one of the big doors and gave a soft knock. A few seconds later Changkyun stepped out and closed the door behind him. As soon as the maknae had turned around, he was engulfed in a hug from his soulmate. Hyungwon saw Jooheon whisper something and rub soothing circles into Changkyun’s back. 

It was touching, but Hyungwon had no idea why Jooheon had been so quick to comfort his soulmate. Had something happened? Hyungwon was reminded of the way Jooheon was so quick to follow when he heard they would be meeting with Changkyun. At the time, he had assumed the boy just wanted to surprise his boyfriend. Now he knew it was much more than that. 

Changkyun pulled himself out of his soulmate’s embrace to face the rest of them. “Hey, so...” Hyungwon saw him and Wonho exchange a look he couldn’t decipher, before the shorter boy continued. “There’s a girl in there and she uh... she really wants to meet you Hyungwon. But...”

After a few moments of silence, Hyungwon looked between Wonho and Changkyun, hoping one of them would explain. When he still got nothing, he let go of Kihyun’s hand and stepped towards the door. If they weren’t going to tell him who she was, he was going to find out for himself. 

“NO!” He was shoved away from the door and was too shocked to realize what had happened. He stumbled a few steps before he tripped over his own foot and started falling backwards. He hit something solid and realized someone had stepped in behind to catch him. He smiled sheepishly up at Kihyun and let himself rest against the shorter boy’s chest while he tried to figure out what had just happened. 

“Sorry! I forgot how light and clumsy you are!” There was an apologetic smile on the singer’s face. “But I couldn’t let you go in there, and Kihyun caught you, so it’s fine.”

Hyungwon threw one last grateful smile up at Kihyun before he stood back up and addressed Wonho. “Okay but why can’t I go in there? Who is this girl?”

“I’m your soulmate.” All eyes turned to the stranger who had snuck out of the room while they were talking. Hyungwon could only stare at the beautiful girl in front of him. 

She was breathtaking, and Hyungwon had trouble focusing on what was happening around him. His mind was racing at her words. There was no way she was his soulmate, he didn’t have one. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and saw the girl looking at him expectantly. She must have been talking to him. 

“I’m sorry, you’re my what?” His friends looked equally as shocked as he felt. 

The brunette giggled and pulled up her sleeve. “Here, I’ll show you.” 

_Hyungwon Chae_

No matter how many times Hyungwon looked at it, the words stayed the same. That was his signature and his name. But she was not his soulmate. She couldn’t be. 

“I don’t understand... I don’t...” He couldn’t stop looking at his name on her perfectly tanned skin. This was everything he had ever wanted. Yet it felt wrong, like something was missing. When he looked up to see the girl, he realized it wasn’t the face he wanted to see. 

He turned around and instinctively searched for Kihyun. Their eyes met and the pink haired boy gave him a soft, sad smile. “What’s your name?” Hyungwon was momentarily confused until he realized Kihyun was addressing the girl behind him.

“Soohyun. Park Soohyun. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you all.” Even at her words, Hyungwon couldn’t bring himself to turn to the girl.

He kept staring into Kihyun’s eyes, willing this to be a nightmare and for everything to go back to how simple it was just half an hour ago. He longed to pull Kihyun into his arms and turn the sad smile into a happy one. But he couldn’t. He felt a small hand on his arm and forced himself to turn around. He was met with the sight of Soohyun, way too close to him than he wanted. 

“You’re even more handsome in person. It’s everything I could have imagined and more!” She took both of his hands and pulled them around her. “Isn’t this great! I finally found my soulmate! And you did too!” He was too shocked to do anything other than hug the girl back as he felt her wrap her short arms around his middle. But it still felt wrong. He didn’t get the warm, fuzzy feeling in his heart everytime Kihyun touched him. And he certainly didn’t feel safe and at home in her arms like he did with the pink haired singer. 

Hyungwon gently pushed the tiny girl away from him and looked back at her wrist. He held his own up and slipped his band off. Still blank. He turned it to Soohyun and tried to form the words to explain how she was mistaken, but he wasn’t given the chance.

“I know your wrist is blank. I saw the article online about your apology. It’s how I found out about you! But I don’t care, you don’t need my name on your wrist. I have yours, so that proves we are meant to be, right?” She looked so hopeful Hyungwon didn’t know what to say. He glanced around to his members for help, only to notice one of them was missing. He turned fully to search for a familiar head of pink hair, but saw nothing.

“Excuse me, I’m sorry. I need to go.” Without a second glance, he took off in the direction he thought Kihyun might have gone. He heard his friends yell after him but didn’t stop to explain himself. He needed to find the singer and make sure he was okay.

The stairwell was the only quick exit out, so he took his chance and started heading in that direction. He made it down two flights of stairs before he came across the vocalist sitting on the floor. Kihyun was hugging his legs to his chest and his forehead was resting between his knees. 

Hyungwon rushed over and dropped down in front of the smaller boy. He placed a hand on Kihyun’s knee and gave it a gentle squeeze. At that, Kihyun finally looked up and Hyungwon brushed his pink bangs out of his eyes.

“You shouldn’t be here Hyungwon. You have a soulmate.” Kihyun pushed his hand away and hugged his knees tighter. 

“I could have a thousand soulmates Kihyun, I would still be here.” He cupped the shorter boy’s face in his hands. “Whoever she is, she can wait.”

Kihyun placed his hands on top of Hyungwon’s and guided them away from his face. “As much as I love hearing you say that, you need to go be with her.” 

Hyungwon sat back to study Kihyun. The boy was clearly taking this hard. And Hyungwon wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around the thin boy and never let go. But he had a feeling that wouldn’t go over well, so he settled for tracing small patterns onto the backs of Kihyun’s hands. 

“She’s your soulmate Hyungwon. That dream you had must have been real. And the name must have been hers. You get your happily ever after.” Kihyun sighed and pulled his hands away. “You will be much better off with her. And this way, when I find my soulmate, you won’t get hurt.”

Hyungwon hated the fake smile on Kihyun’s face. He didn’t want to be happy with anyone but Kihyun and he certainly didn’t want the older boy to have a soulmate who wasn’t him. Before he could voice his opinion he felt a small shove to his shoulder.

“Go, talk to her. Be with your soulmate.” Hyungwon shook his head and opened his mouth but Kihyun wouldn’t let him speak. “Wonnie, we both knew this wasn’t going to last. It’s better this happens now, before we got in too deep.”

He didn’t know how to say he was already in way too deep, so he let his actions convey those thoughts. He wrapped his arms around the shorter boy and pulled him into his lap. He felt Kihyun sigh as he leaned into his chest. Hyungwon kissed the top of his head and hugged him tighter.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry Kihyun. I...” He stopped when he realized he didn’t know what to say. What could he say to make this better? 

“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. You’re going to go up there and talk to your soulmate. You’re going to give her a chance before you write her off.” He felt Kihyun’s hair tickle his chin as the shorter boy fit his head into the crook of his neck. “And then you’re going to fall in love with her and everything is going to work out.”

“And if I stay here? If I never see her again and I live out my happily ever after with you?” Hyungwon tried to imagine any other scenario. But found he hated all the outcomes that had someone other than Kihyun wrapped in his arms.

“If you stay here, then you lose your shot at happiness.” Kihyun pulled away and crawled out of his lap. The pink haired boy sat back against the wall and stared into Hyungwon’s eyes. “You stay with me and I find my soulmate and I leave you. The roles are reversed, but the outcome’s the same. This world tells you who you end up with Hyungwon. A few kisses and an awkward crush isn’t enough to change that.”

An awkward crush. So that’s all he was then. Someone to pass the time with until Kihyun’s real soulmate showed up. He shook his head in disbelief. “You don’t mean that.”

“Mean what? That I want you to be happy? That I think she could be good for you?” Kihyun gave him an exasperated sigh and another gentle shove to the shoulder. “Hyungwon, everything you could ever want is standing up there, waiting for you. Go get it. Stop wasting your time with me.” 

Hyungwon shook his head again. This wasn’t happening. Soohyun didn’t exist and he didn’t have a soulmate. He gave Kihyun a pleading look and silently begged the older boy to tell him this was a horrible nightmare. 

“Do I have to hold your hand and drag you back there? Because I really don’t want to, but I will.” Kihyun made to stand but Hyungwon held him down by the shoulders.

“No, I... I get it, I’ll go. If that’s what you really want?” 

“I want you to be happy. And she can make you happy, Wonnie. Let her.” Kihyun took his wrist and ran his thumb over the now exposed skin where his mark should be. Hyungwon felt a sense of calm wash over him. He looked down at Kihyun’s small hand holding his wrist, then back up to his face. “Whatever made your mark disappear didn’t take hers. Count yourself lucky. And pray the same happens for me.” 

Kihyun grabbed both his hands and stood up, pulling Hyungwon with him. He felt Kihyun give one final reassuring squeeze before he spun Hyungwon around by the shoulders and pushed him forwards. 

The taller boy glanced back and Kihyun gave him a soft smile. “Go, already.” 

“Okay.” He looked straight ahead and started walking back up the stairs. He could do this. If Kihyun wanted to be with his soulmate and not Hyungwon, then he needed to move on. And this girl, Soohyun, he reminded himself, was the best way to do that. He finally had a soulmate and he wouldn’t let that slip away. That didn’t stop him from looking back to see Kihyun watching him leave with that same fake smile plastered on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the kudos and comments! You guys are so sweet!! - Kay


	12. Banshee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for my longest chapter yet! I switched up the pov yet again, so hope you guys like it! - Kay

“I hate her.” Minhyuk watched as Soohyun laughed loudly at something Hyungwon had said and slapped his arm. “Ugh, that’s so fake. I hate her.”

“Minhyuk, if you say that one more time, I will hit you.” Minhyuk glared over at Jooheon’s words. It wasn’t his fault the girl was ruining his best friend’s life. “You just met her, give her a chance.”

Once Hyungwon had come back from going after Kihyun, the taller boy had apologized for his rude behaviour and invited Soohyun to get coffee with them. In the time it took Hyungwon to get back, however, Minhyuk had already formed his opinion of the girl. She was too loud, obsessed over Hyungwon too much and definitely lied about not knowing them. She had been texting non-stop since she had met them and Minhyuk had seen her background. It was a screenshot of Hyungwon from No.Mercy. That meant either she was a long time Monbebe, or had delved into their history enough to watch it. Not to mention she knew all their names without being introduced and seemed to interpret their behaviours. Minhyuk could deal with all of that though, if this girl really was Hyungwon’s soulmate. The problem lied in the fact that she had suggested her and Hyungwon sit at a different table. ‘To get better acquainted’ my ass. She clearly wanted to isolate and tear him away from his friends. This girl was scheming something, that he was sure of. As a schemer himself, he knew he could trust his gut feelings on this.

“Look at her! All over him. It’s disgusting.” He tried to glare hard enough to get Soohyun to back off Hyungwon, but the girl didn’t seem to notice. 

“Min, you need to stop.” He turned back to face his friends at Changkyun’s words and gave a drawn out sigh. He knew he was being over dramatic, but he couldn’t help it. His boyfriend had gone after Kihyun, to make sure the pink haired boy was okay. So now he had to sit here with no handsome face to distract him. No muscles to squish or strong arms to wrap around him and make everything feel better. He leaned onto Wonho’s shoulder beside him, but it wasn’t the same. 

Minhyuk felt Wonho wrap his arm around him and give a small side hug. “I don’t like her either. I would much rather that be Kihyun. But he looks happy… Right?”

Minhyuk pulled away and stared at Wonho in shock. “You think THAT is his happy face? Hoseok do you not know Hyungwon at all?” He looked at the couple on the other side of the table and was met with equally confused looks. They would be no help then. “He’s clearly just being polite, but he’s dying inside. Look, every time she touches him, which is too much, he flinches away from it. And she’s way too loud for him, it sounds like she’s screeching. He hates loud voices, I know cuz he always complains about mine. Come on guys, you can’t see them and tell me she’s his soulmate! They look terrible together.”

“What makes you so sure? Maybe they’re just really awkward?” Jooheon needed to stop defending this human banshee and just agree with his solid logic already. 

“No, Jooheon do you remember the first time you met Changkyun? You couldn’t stop thinking about him, right?” At the boy’s nod, he continued. “Every time he so much as looked at you, you wanted to scream in joy, correct? Well does Hyungwon’s face look like he wants to scream in joy or frustration?” 

He took their silence as a sign he was right before he saw their shocked expressions looking behind him. He turned around to look at what had them so baffled. Kihyun and Hyunwoo had walked in to the coffee shop and were now in an awkward conversation with the new soulmate couple. Not actual soulmates though, Minhyuk reminded himself. As if sensing he was looking, Hyunwoo raised his head and caught Minhyuk’s eye. His boyfriend glanced quickly at Kihyun and silently pleaded for help. He jumped up and bounced over to them. 

Minhyuk placed an overly bubbly smile on his face and wrapped his arms around his pink haired friend’s waist from behind. He hooked his chin over Kihyun’s shoulder and addressed the two seated at the table. “Sorry, I have to steal these two from you. I miss my angry hamster and Hyunwoo needs to pay for our drinks.” 

He felt Kihyun lean back against him and tightened his hold on the shorter boy. Before pulling Kihyun back to the booth he had been seated at, he made sure to meet Hyungwon’s eyes. He searched for any sign of discomfort or need for help, but found none. The only thing Minhyuk could read off his best friend was the sadness whenever he looked at Kihyun. But everytime Hyungwon looked at the vocal, he would quickly look back to Soohyun and smile. That was definitely the fake smile Hyungwon put on at meet and greets when a fan got too handsy. He knew this girl was too much for the reserved boy. He was about to tell her to crawl back to the hell she came from, when he felt a gentle tug on his sleeve. Minhyuk gave another blinding smile to the two before he pulled Kihyun away and in the direction of their other group members. 

Before they made it the whole way, he stopped and let go of Kihyun to turn him around. “Why did you two come here? You could have met us back home.” He glanced at Hyunwoo, who had followed them after they had made their escape. 

“I wanted to see them together. I’m fine Minhyuk, they look good together.” Minhyuk watched in disbelief as Kihyun gave an obviously fake smile and left to meet up with the other members. The pink haired boy sat beside Wonho and sunk into his side as the muscular boy wrapped an arm around him.

“Well this is a disaster.” Minhyuk sighed.

“I tried not to let him come here, I should have tried harder, sorry.” Hyunwoo rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at Kihyun in worry. “Min, they… I wasn’t supposed to say anything, but I walked in on them kissing earlier. And now he’s trying to act like it never happened when it’s killing him inside. I don’t know what to do.” 

At the hopeless look his soulmate gave him, Minhyuk stepped in front of Hyunwoo and cupped his cheeks. “We will figure this out okay? But it’s not your fault, stop blaming yourself. That girl needs to leave and then they will be fine.”

Hyunwoo gently grabbed Minhyuk’s wrists and pulled his hands down from his face to hold them at their sides. He ran his thumb along the backs of Minhyuk’s hands. “I know you really don’t like her, but Minnie… You have to accept that right now, Hyungwon wants her to be his soulmate.” 

“No I don’t. You may all be convinced by her act, but I’m not. Wonnie hates her and—“ He was cut off by lips on his own. They were gone before he could think to reciprocate the gesture. He sighed and wrapped his arms around Hyunwoo’s neck. 

“You were going to rant and I was going to get jealous again.” Minhyuk gave his boyfriend a questioning look as he ran his fingers through his thick black hair. “You always get upset when people get too close to him. Sometimes I wonder… Nevermind. We have to focus on Kihyun and making sure he’s okay. And we can worry about Soohyun after.” 

Before Minhyuk could respond with how wrong he was, Hyunwoo had already slipped out of his grasp and gone to sit beside Kihyun at their table. He gave one last glance back to Hyungwon and Soohyun before following. He slipped into the seat beside Jooheon and immediately wrapped his arms around the rapper’s shoulders, seeking comfort in his cuddly friend. He caught Hyunwoo’s eye from across the table and tried to convey how much he loved him in one look. He knew Hyungwon was a touchy subject for the older boy. Ever since Minhyuk had confessed he used to wish for the model to be his soulmate, Hyunwoo had always been cautious of their friendship. Minhyuk wished there was a way to show Hyunwoo that the second he had laid eyes on the older boy, all thoughts of anyone else left him for good. 

As is sensing his troubled thoughts, Hyunwoo reached across the table, asking for his hand. Minhyuk detangled himself from Jooheon and placed his wrist into Hyunwoo’s waiting palm. His soulmate ran his thumb along the soulmark there and a wave of calm washed over him. He smiled up at Hyunwoo in a silent offer to do the same. His boyfriend shook his head slightly and looked down to see Kihyun holding Hyunwoo’s other hand in a death grip. He laughed lightly and made a silent promise to return the gesture later once his soulmate had his hand back. 

Minhyuk looked over his shoulder to check on his best friend and make sure he hadn’t been murdered. He noticed the tall visual was alone. He glanced around the coffee shop to search out where the devil’s daughter might have slithered away to. He saw long, curly brown hair disappear towards the bathroom and got up to follow her. Minhyuk felt a hand grab his shoulder and force him to sit back down.

“Where are you going?” He cursed internally before turning to Jooheon with what he hoped was a look of pure innocence. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by his friend’s harsh whisper. “Don’t give me bullshit about having to pee.”

“Fine, I want to go see if I can learn more about Soohyun. If she’s going to be a permanent part of Wonnie’s life, I need to make sure she won’t hurt him.” He felt the hand on his shoulder give him a reassuring squeeze. “I know I’m being overly protective. But he’s too gullible and you know it. He wants a soulmate too much to be objective, so I have to be. And I really don’t like her.”

He had no reasonable explanation for why he was acting this way and he knew that. But seeing Hyungwon with her just looked wrong. “Are you sure it’s not to harass her?” He could only glare at the younger boy in exasperation. Even if he didn’t like the her, he still had an image to maintain. “Just kidding! Go then, before she gets back. I’ll cover for you.”

This was why he loved Jooheon. He gave the boy’s leg a grateful pat under the table and slipped out of the booth. Minhyuk made sure not to look back in fear that he might catch one of his member’s eyes. He didn’t need more people questioning him or his actions.

He made it to the back hallway without a hitch and waited just outside the girl’s bathroom for Soohyun to come out. He heard a shriek and muffled screaming coming from inside. Thinking someone was in trouble, he moved forward to knock on the door. His hand stopped mid air when he heard just what was being said.

“He totally fell for me! I’m serious Jessi! This is insane! Your dad is amazing, thank him for me.” That was definitely the high pitched shriek of Soohyun. But what did that mean? “I can’t stop staring at his name on my wrist, it’s like a dream come true. If I’d known how happy it would make me, I would have gotten this years ago.”

Even though Minhyuk had a feeling she was a fake, he still felt his jaw drop in shock at the admittance. How dumb could this girl be, saying such a huge secret so loud? And why would she think Hyungwon could ever like someone so idiotic? He shook his head and tried to hear more but realized the ear splitting voice had stopped. He saw the door to the washroom start to open and jumped back, trying not to look like he had heard all of her evil plotting. 

“Minhyuk? What are you doing outside the girl’s washroom? Did you need something?” She was back to playing innocent it seemed. He could either play along, or expose her right now. But he knew he needed more proof than just his word. 

Hyungwon better appreciate him after this. “I actually wanted to talk to you. I was thinking, since Hyungwon is my best friend, and you are his soulmate…” Minhyuk had never had to force this much fake enthusiasm, but better to be close to your enemies and all that. “We should get to know each other better! Maybe the two of us could go shopping together in the near future, have some bonding time.” 

“That sounds wonderful! Oh, I’m so happy my soulmate has such amazing friends!” He tried not to cringe when she used the term soulmate. She had no right saying those words. Minhyuk took note, as he was forced into a nonconsensual hug, of the fact she smelt like someone had dumped perfume over her head. A really cheap, overpowering perfume. He almost had to hold his breath as he wrapped his arms around her and tried not to touch her too much, afraid the smell might linger on him. When they pulled back, he gave Soohyun a blinding smile. He silently prayed he could figure out how to prove she was a piece of fake trash before he was doomed to spend an entire day with her. “Here, I’ll give you my number and we can text! This is so exciting, I can already tell we’re going to be best friends!”

Her laugh was worse than her normal talking voice. Minhyuk didn’t even know laughs could be that high pitched. At least it wasn’t an evil cackle like he had pictured. He remembered he was supposed to pretend to like her, so he laughed along. Minhyuk should have been an actor, not a singer. He took Soohyun’s phone, without a case he noticed, and entered his number. It was tempting to put a fake, or better yet Jooheon’s to make the younger boy suffer her future nonsense. But he was a good friend and he figured he might need her number later. 

“Okay.” He handed her phone back and gave her a big grin. “We should get back. Don’t want to keep Hyungwon waiting.”

“Oh yes! My Wonwon probably misses me already!” Minhyuk found himself mouthing ‘Wonwon’ in disbelief. What kind of nickname was that? He shook his head to clear his mind of all his inner judgement. 

“Well, let’s go then.” He turned on his heels and started in the direction of his booth, noticing how Soohyun did a great job in keeping up with him despite her short legs. Minhyuk took the chance to really look at her while they walked back to Hyungwon. If things had been different, he would be happy his best friend had such a beautiful soulmate. She had just the right amount of curves and her skin was flawless. She was almost as perfect as Hyungwon himself. But Kihyun was a way better match visually and personality wise. Plus this girl was not Hyungwon’s real soulmate. Now he just had to figure out how to prove it. 

He felt a hand touch his arm and he stopped to look down at the brunette. “Well this is where we part. I’ll go back to my Wonwon and you go back to your friends over there. I’ll text you later tonight!” He would never get used to hearing his best friend be called that. He watched the girl bound over to Hyungwon and let out a sigh of relief at being free of her annoying presence. 

Once he made it back to the booth where his group members sat, he was immediately questioned by all of them at once. “Okay! One at a time, my goodness. Hyunwoo, you go first since your voice is the only one I actually want to hear.” He gave his soulmate a loving smile and was rewarded with a slap from the brunette rapper beside him.

He heard a soft chuckle come from his soulmate and saw an equally as fond look reflected back at him. “What were you doing with Soohyun?”

“I just want to get to know her is all. I promise I did nothing wrong!” He looked at his friends individually to gauge how convincing he had been. Everyone but Hyunwoo and Jooheon looked convinced his intentions had been innocent. 

“And? What did you learn about her?” His boyfriend gave him a face that told him they would be discussing this later, in private.

“That she’s even more annoying up close, smells like garbage perfume and her hair is super shiny. So she has one thing going for her.” He grinned up at Hyunwoo. “I tried to be pleasant. We are going shopping together sometime next week I think. I gave her my number, so before you know it we are going to be besties!” He gave them a sarcastic thumbs up and dropped his head onto the table. “Just end me now you guys. I can’t deal with her, she’s the actual worst. I—“

“Hate her. We know.” He glared up at his terrible friends after hearing them all steal his words. Sometimes he hated how in sync their group could be. He let his head fall back down with a soft thud, too mentally drained to argue with them. 

At least Kihyun hadn’t said anything. He was Minhyuk’s favourite, the only one he could count on to not be an asshole. Though as he turned his head to the side to look at his pink haired friend, he took back that thought. The vocal had his head resting on Wonho’s shoulder and looked completely out of it. Well that wouldn’t do, he couldn’t have Kihyun be mopey. This was a prime opportunity to make fun of Minhyuk, one of Kihyun’s favourite past times. And he was missing it in favour of staring off into space like a kicked puppy. 

That was the deciding factor. He hadn’t realized how much Kihyun had felt for Hyungwon, but seeing him like this? Minhyuk couldn’t have that. He wanted both his friends to have their happily ever after and he would do whatever it took to make it happen. He would expose Soohyun for the lying cretin she really was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for all the kind comments! You guys are great! If you haven't already, make sure you check out Must be Able to Kill Bugs. It's Jay's first fic and it's amazing!! If you need more showhyuk, it's perfect for you! - Kay


	13. Love?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! And so is Hyungwon! Enjoy his confusion. - Kay

“It was nice meeting you Soohyun. I look forward to seeing you again.” Hyungwon smiled at his soulmate. He never actually believed he could have a soulmate. Yet here she was. And Soohyun was everything he could have asked for. He had to admit, the brunette wasn’t exactly who he pictured beside him. But despite that, he found himself growing to like her. Their height difference was adorable and he loved the way she would giggle into her hand when he said something funny. At least that’s what he told himself. Because this was a shot at the life he always wanted. And even if she might be a bit too loud or touchy, those were things he could learn to love about her. He put up with Minhyuk just fine. Was that a normal thing to think about your soulmate? That you had to ‘put up with them’?

He felt a hand on his arm and turned his attention back to the beautiful girl in front of him. “I can’t wait! Are you sure you can’t come back to my place?” He tried not to shiver at the suggestive look on her face. Soulmate or not, he was nowhere near ready for that. She seemed to pick up on his hesitancy. “I’m joking! I’m not ready for that either.” He smiled at her adorable giggle. She did have her charms. And it helped she seemed to know what he was feeling before he did.

“Hyungwon! Hurry and say goodbye. We need to go.” He heard Minhyuk call out to him. Soohyun’s expression fell, and he guessed it was because she would miss him. He wondered if he would miss her too. Hyungwon tried to send her happy thoughts, hoping to cheer her up while he was gone. Since they were soulmates, maybe it would work. He still wasn’t sure if their marks were reciprocal. He had heard stories of people having soulmates with a blank wrist, or someone else’s name as their mark. He hoped for Soohyun’s sake that he lost his mark, like his dream suggested. 

“Normally, when people say goodbye, they actually leave the person they said it too.” Hyungwon felt a hand land roughly on his shoulder. He gave Minhyuk a questioning look, silently trying to ask why he was being so pushy. “We have a tight schedule and we need sleep, _Wonnie_.” He became more confused at the emphasis placed on his nickname. Minhyuk had been acting weird ever since Soohyun had suggested they get a more private table. He made a mental note to ask the blonde about it later.

Hyungwon turned his attention back to the small brunette in front of him. He was surprised to see her looking down at her phone. The entire night she seemed unable to take her eyes off him.

He was suddenly enveloped in a tight hug that he barely had time to reciprocate. “I should go! I’ll miss you!” Hyungwon blinked in surprise at how fast Soohyun bounced out of the coffee shop. She had been so sad about him leaving before. He hoped nothing was wrong. He also hoped it wasn’t the fault of his grumpy friend, who was now dragging him toward the other members.

“Min, hey.” He stopped, making the blonde stumble back, as he had a tight grip on Hyungwon’s arm. “What’s up with you?”

“Nothing! I’m perfectly fine! We just need to get home.” Hyungwon knew that wasn’t true, given that Minhyuk had yet to look at him.

“Stop lying. We don’t have secrets, remember? Is it Soohyun? Do you not like her?” He tried to keep the hurt out of his voice at the thought of his best friend hating his soulmate. If they were going to have any future together, he needed Minhyuk to like her. 

Minhyuk sighed and turned to face him. “No secrets, I know. She’s not… my favourite person at the moment.” Minhyuk stepped closer and set his hands gently on Hyungwon’s shoulders. “But if she makes you happy, I will learn to like her. Okay? I just want you to be careful. Are you sure you can trust her?” 

It almost seemed as if Minhyuk knew something he wasn’t telling Hyungwon. But he said no secrets, and the model never had any reason to doubt his best friend before. “She has my name on her wrist Min. It’s my signature. Even if she isn’t my soulmate, I’m hers. I can’t deny that.”

“Right.” Minhyuk narrowed his eyes as a scowl graced his features. But as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone. He was about to ask Minhyuk why he was acting this way, when the blonde shook his head. He turned to continue walking, sending a strained smile over his shoulder. “Let’s go.” Hyungwon sighed and followed after his best friend.

As they approached the other members, he was caught off guard by all their questions regarding Soohyun. He tried his best to answer them all. Even with the distraction, his mind kept thinking about what the older boy had against the girl. She was kind, funny and beautiful. Her and Minhyuk should get along perfectly fine, so why wasn’t the singer charmed by her? He found a possible answer when he saw the blonde pull Kihyun into his side. Minhyuk was supposed to be his best friend, not Kihyun’s. He should have his arm around Hyungwon, comforting him through this. 

Hyungwon sighed and cast his gaze to the ground, as they started their walk back home. He knew he was being selfish. He had a chance at a life with his soulmate and Kihyun didn’t. But Minhyuk didn’t know that. And besides, it was the vocal’s own fault. The older boy had made it clear Hyungwon was to be with Soohyun. If it were up to him, he would still be in that stairwell, reassuring Kihyun how much he loved him. 

Hyungwon stopped in his tracks. Love? Since when had he loved Kihyun? He could only stare at the back of Kihyun’s pink head in shock as he tried to process this new feeling.

He jumped when he felt a hand on his arm. “Hyungwon? You okay?” He looked up and noticed everyone had stopped to look at him. His eyes met Kihyun’s for a brief second before he averted his gaze. He didn’t want to look at the object of his affections. He wasn’t ready to deal with his unwanted emotions. 

He gave a slight nod to Wonho’s question, before walking again. He passed the concerned group in front of him. “I’m fine, just tired.” He didn’t look back to see if they had believed him or not. He needed to get home and sleep before his brain could come up with any more crazy ideas.


	14. Doubtful

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter you'll get to meet Hyungwon's mom! Enjoy his angst. And even though he's not in this chapter, Happy Wonho day!!!! - Kay

“Hyungwon, sweetheart. What do you need?” Hyungwon laughed. His mother could always tell when he wanted something from her. 

“Can’t I just call to see how things are back home?” He heard his mother give a sarcastic laugh and could imagine her rolling her eyes. “Sorry I haven’t talked to you guys in a while, I’ve been busy. But yeah, there is a reason I’m calling.” 

“Is everything okay? You sound kind of nervous.” She was right. He was afraid she would tell him was exactly what he didn’t want to hear. 

“Yeah Mom, things are fine. Or I think they are? I don’t really know.” He paused to collect his thoughts before continuing. “I think... I think I met my soulmate. But that’s insane, right? Because you and Dad always said I didn’t have one, so...” 

He waited for some kind of confirmation that this was a crazy idea. That Soohyun wasn’t who she claimed to be and his life wasn’t about to be flipped upside down. He was met with silence, which could only be a bad sign. 

“Mom? I can’t possibly have a soulmate, right? Or if I do, then it’s one sided?” His mother continued to stay silent but he heard a shift from the other side of the line as if she had sat down. “Please say something.” 

“Hyungwon... Understand that everything your father and I did, it was out of love.” Hyungwon felt like crying. This was it. This was where she told him they had lied his entire life. “But... you did have a mark. Hyungwon, you do have a soulmate. I’m so sorry, we didn’t think you would ever meet them.” Hyungwon could only stare at the wall in disbelief. “Sweetie, the doctor told us after you lost it, that the mark couldn’t be fixed. He said if you found your soulmate before the mark healed, it might hurt you. We couldn’t take that chance.” 

“So even after it healed, you still felt the need to lie to me?” He couldn’t stop the bitter edge that laced his words. 

“That’s just it. It never healed. Not in the way it was supposed to. You should have scarring or a faint mark. But instead, you have nothing.” Hyungwon looked down at his wrist and willed it to show something. Some sign he missed that hinted at a name ever being there. But as always, it was blank.

“I don’t... I don’t understand.” Should his wrist look like Kihyun’s? Is that why the older boy’s looked so damaged? If Soohyun’s mark was unaffected, then the problem was obviously on Hyungwon’s end. If his soulmate’s mark was okay, maybe Kihyun’s would be as well. Maybe the pink haired boy still had a chance at finding his soulmate after all. Hyungwon tried not to dwell on the uneasy feeling in his stomach when he pictured Kihyun’s name on someone else’s wrist. 

He was broken out of his thoughts by his mother’s voice. “Neither do I, I’m afraid. We’ve done so much research on it. We hoped one day we could tell you about your soulmate.” He heard her pause yet again and wondered what life changing words she would say next. “But you were already so happy without us saying anything, we kind of assumed you’d already found out.” 

“I still don’t get why you didn’t tell me.” He wanted an explanation. He knew his mother wasn’t telling him everything. 

“Honestly, if you hadn’t chosen the career you did, then we might have. But Hyungwon, it’s so much easier to not have a mark, then to have a broken one.” He heard a long sigh and couldn’t bring himself to be mad anymore. “We just didn’t want people to find out and you to get hurt. All cases of idols with broken marks they... they don’t turn out well sweetie, and we couldn’t have that happen to you.” 

Hyungwon didn’t know how to respond to that. All his parents had ever cared about was his safety. He couldn’t fault them for that, even if he wished they had handled it differently. 

“Mom, it’s... it’s okay. I get it. I think. Is there any way...” He knew the answer to his next question but figured he should try and ask regardless. “Is there proof of my mark? A picture or video? I just... I want to see it.”

“I’m afraid not. Your father and I had everything destroyed so no one could use it against you.” He sighed as she once again confirmed something he didn’t want. “Hyungwon, if I may ask, why are you only asking me this now? What changed?”

“I met them. Somehow they found me and—“ He was cut off by a large crash on the other side of the line. 

“Oh dear, your father just dropped the good plates. I swear, between the two of you I don’t know how I have anything nice left in this house.” He laughed despite the tension still between the two. “Sweetheart, I’ll have to call you back. Your father doesn’t know how to clean to save his life. But know that we love you and will support you and your soulmate. You already know we love him.”

He was about to say goodbye when he clued in on the pronoun his mom used. “Him? Don’t you mean her?” 

“What? Oh, sorry. Sure sweetie, you know I don’t judge that type of thing.” He was about to question her further, when she interrupted. “I’m so sorry, he’s bleeding I have to go. Love you, bye!” 

With that, his mother hung up on him. Hyungwon’s mind was reeling after all that information. So he was correct. He did have a soulmate, and Soohyun really was telling the truth. There was that weird slip up at the end of their conversation, but Hyungwon figured it was just because his mom was stressed about his mess of a father. 

He decided he didn’t want to be alone with that knowledge anymore and wandered into the living room to see who was home. He spotted Changkyun and Jooheon cuddling on the couch watching a movie and heard voices in the kitchen. He figured he shouldn’t interrupt the soulmate’s alone time and headed towards the others. 

“Please? Kihyun I swear it will be fun! Just us, I won’t even ask Hyunwoo!” Minhyuk was hanging off the annoyed pink haired boy as he whined. 

He could tell by the slight upturn of Kihyun’s lips, he was about to cave to the blonde’s wishes. As Hyungwon stepped into the room, the two locked eyes. It was as if the older boy had sensed his presence. 

“Why do you look like someone stole your favourite pillow?” He frowned at Kihyun and shook his head. He didn’t want to talk about anything relating to his soulmate with the singer. Not after what had recently happened between them. It had only been two days since their talk in the stairwell, and they had been avoiding each other. Now, he couldn’t even look at Kihyun without feeling as though he was betraying someone. He wasn’t sure if that someone was Kihyun, or his now confirmed soulmate. 

“He’s right, Wonnie. What’s wrong? Is it Soohyun? What did that wench do?” He snapped his head up and glared at his supposed best friend. 

“Don’t call her that. And she didn’t do anything.” He didn’t know why, but he felt an overwhelming need to protect her. It wasn’t her fault they were soulmates. And she certainly didn’t deserve Minhyuk’s cold attitude. “Min, why do you hate her so much? What did she do?” 

“She’s just... It’s a feeling, okay?” Hyungwon could tell he was lying, but didn’t have the will to argue. 

“Whatever. She’s my soulmate, my mom just said so. Whatever your reason is, you need to get over it.” On a normal day, he wouldn’t be as harsh. He knew he should be trying to find out why Minhyuk was out to get the poor girl. And he shouldn’t be putting her feelings above his best friend’s. Not when he could tell something was clearly agitating the blonde. But this was his soulmate. Someone who he should love unconditionally and value above everyone else. 

“That’s great, Hyungwon.” He switched his gaze to Kihyun and saw a fake smile plastered on his face. “I’m glad she confirmed it. I’m sure Soohyun will be too. If you’ll excuse me, I need to go meet Hoseok.” 

The words were so rushed, Hyungwon almost missed them. Kihyun tried to slip around him, but there was no way he was going to let the singer leave. Not when he felt this upset. He grabbed the shorter boy’s wrist and held him in place. Kihyun sighed and refused to face him. 

“Ki... You don’t have to—“ He stopped himself when Kihyun spun around suddenly. 

“I know. But I’m going to.” Hyungwon could hear the waver in his voice and released his wrist, knowing he was the cause. “I am happy for you, okay? I mean that.” 

Before he could reply, Kihyun was gone. Hyungwon heard the front door slam. He sighed and stared at the ground. Why was this so hard? Arms wrapped around his shoulders and he turned to bury his face in Minhyuk’s neck. 

“It’ll be okay Wonnie. He’ll be okay.” He was once again reminded of why Minhyuk was his best friend. No matter what was going on between them, the blonde was always supportive. He slipped his arms around Minhyuk’s middle and leaned into him even more. The singer started running his hand through Hyungwon’s hair, whispering more comforting words. This was what he needed, a warm hug and a promise that everything would be okay. 

He pulled himself back slightly so he could look at Minhyuk’s face. “Min? I know you don’t like her, but pretend for a second you do.” His best friend nodded for him to continue. “Why aren’t I happy? I should be jumping for joy after finding out she’s my soulmate. But instead I feel like my heart’s been ripped out and shattered on the floor. How can Kihyun have this effect on me when I’m supposed to be living my happily ever after?” 

During his questioning, he had pushed away from Minhyuk and started pacing. Nothing made sense anymore. This wasn’t what Hyungwon had pictured when he dreamed of having a mark. At this point, he would rather not have a soulmate than see Kihyun upset. He froze and reminded himself of his earlier thought. He shouldn’t care about anyone more than his soulmate. So why did he feel like he would drop Soohyun in a second for Kihyun? A hand grabbed his shoulder and stopped his racing thoughts. 

“Hyungwon. Did your mother ever say a name?” He looked at the older boy in slight confusion. “Your soulmate’s name. Did she tell you who it was?” 

“No, but it can’t be anyone other than Soohyun. Can it?” What if he did have a different soulmate? Soohyun’s mark could be unrequited. Did it matter? She still had his name and should be a part of his life. She deserved that. 

“I don’t know. Can’t say I have an answer for any of your other questions either.” The blonde pulled him into another hug. “But whatever happens, whoever your soulmate is, it doesn’t matter. You’ve always got me. And Hyunwoo.” 

Hyungwon gave a small laugh. “Yeah, I’m glad I’ll always have Hyunwoo. You, I could live without.” 

That earned him a playful jab in the ribs, causing him to collapse in mock pain as he giggled at Minhyuk’s exasperated expression. “You love me and you know it!” He laughed even harder when the vocalist dropped to the floor beside him and started tickling his sides. Minhyuk was right, his soulmate didn’t really matter. Not as long as he had his best friend.


	15. Movies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Detective Minhyuk is back on the case! This chapter is kinda short, but hope you like it! - Kay

“Min, you and Shownu should come with us!” 

Those words would haunt him for the rest of his life. Never again did he want to hear such a vile creature utter his name in such a friendly manner. Minhyuk was minding his own business, happily getting ready to spend the rest of his night catching up on all the new Kdramas. But Hyungwon’s new lesser half had decided to ruin that by inviting him and his soulmate to the movies.

He sighed and tried to cuddle closer to Hyunwoo. The movie Soohyun picked was awful. Some B-list horror film that was all gore and not in the least bit scary. The only perk of the whole night was being squished up against his muscular boyfriend for two uninterrupted hours. At least that’s what he thought, until he learned Soohyun didn’t know how to shut up. 

He glared at her in hopes she would get the message to stop her mouse squeak of a voice and let the rest of the theatre have some ounce of peace. So far it hadn’t been working, but they were only an hour and half into it. 

He grabbed one of Hyunwoo’s hands and placed it over his exposed ear, pressing his other onto the muscular chest he was leaning on. He felt his soulmate give a soft laugh as he started stroking Minhyuk’s soulmark with his unoccupied hand. 

The gesture was calming and Minhyuk was grateful for it. But no matter how hard he tried to focus on the movie, or the comforting touches of his soulmate, he kept hearing Soohyun’s voice. A voice that was filled with lies and intent to hurt his best friend. Minhyuk sighed again. This was going to be a long night. 

—————————————————————————————————————————

“Wasn’t that movie amazing! I just loved it!” Hyungwon smiled down at Soohyun. They were currently waiting with Shownu for Minhyuk to use the restroom. They had decided after the movie to go to the arcade within the theater. 

The movie had been terrible, he was sure she thought that too. But her optimism was commendable. Hyungwon decided to go along with the positivity to make her happy and nodded. “It was great.” He tried his best to give her a convincing look. This was all new to him. Never before had he tried to impress someone this much. If he were with Kihyun, they would have torn that movie apart. And if by some miracle the pink haired boy had liked it, Hyungwon would have called him an idiot with terrible taste. 

He shook his head and told himself to stop comparing everyone to Kihyun. Soohyun was his soulmate. And she was right in front of him, being adorable. He should be focusing on her right now.

“Wonwon?” He realized he had been staring at Soohyun and grinned sheepishly at her. 

“Sorry, lost in thought. What is it?” She giggled and placed a hand on his arm. He always thought if he found his soulmate, he would feel something when they touched. Like a spark or sudden warmth. Something like when Kihyun would- No. He stopped those thoughts before they could turn into more. 

Soohyun opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Minhyuk bounding over to them. “Hey, I’m back! Sorry that took so long, the line was super long.” Hyungwon glanced at Minhyuk as he rushed past Soohyun, slightly bumping her shoulder. He was about to scold the blonde, when he noticed a panicked look on his face. Had something happened in the bathroom? 

He made to reach for his best friend, but Shownu beat him to it. “Are you okay? What happened?” The older boy cupped Minhyuk’s cheek and was staring into his eyes.

“I’ll be fine, just a scare.” The two had a silent conversation and then Minhyuk moved Shownu’s hand from his face. “We’re going home. Hyungwon are you coming with us?” 

He glanced between Soohyun and Minhyuk. In his mind, it was an obvious choice. Something clearly happened to his best friend, and he needed to be there for him. Judging by the panicked look and shallow breathing, the blonde had likely seen blood. Ever since Hyungwon had known him, Minhyuk always had a fear of seeing blood. Only when it was in person, as the singer didn’t seem to care about the fake stuff in movies. 

As he thought it over more, he started to doubt his decision. Minhyuk hadn’t really been coming to Hyungwon with his problems lately. And besides, the blonde had his soulmate. If there really was an issue, the older boy would have made it clear he needed his best friend. 

Hyungwon stepped forward and placed his hands on Minhyuk’s shoulders. “I’m gonna stay here. But if you need me, I’ll be home right away. Okay? Promise you’ll tell me if you want me there?” He saw Minhyuk give a small nod and the blonde stepped back. 

“We will see you later than. It was nice spending time with you Soohyun.” Shownu wrapped his arm around Minhyuk’s waist and led his soulmate in the direction of the entrance doors. Hyungwon watched until they were lost in the crowd before turning back to Soohyun. 

“Now that they’re gone, we can finally have some alone time.” Hyungwon faked a smile as she took his hand. He was dragged toward to arcade section of the theatre. This time, he didn’t stop his thoughts from imagining what it would be like if Kihyun were here. The pink haired boy would have forced Hyungwon to follow Minhyuk. 

The rest of the night he was plagued with worry for his best friend, and a nagging feeling that Soohyun might not be the person he thought she was.


	16. Divorce

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long! School has been crazy. But enjoy Showhyuk, Hyungki will be back soon!

Silence. That’s what Minhyuk was met with when him and Hyunwoo finally made it home. After a quick dismissal of any questions about the movie, Minhyuk was pushed into the dance line’s room. The blonde was currently sitting on Hyunwoo’s bed with his back against the wall, while his soulmate sat across from him on Wonho’s. 

He knew his soulmate was giving him time to sort out his thoughts, but the quiet wasn’t helping him. All he wanted was to curl into Hyunwoo’s arms and forget anything else existed. He finally had proof Soohyun was a fraud. He had stolen her phone from her purse, excused himself to the washroom and searched through it. What he found made his skin crawl. He knew he shouldn’t have acted panicky and lied to Hyungwon. But he needed an excuse to bump into the assless baboon’s shoulder and drop her phone back without notice. Plus, he really wanted to hit her. Minhyuk really was great at nefarious plans. He should turn this into a job, after his idol career ended. 

He was brought out of his self praise by Hyunwoo shifting slightly to get more comfortable. Right, he had to tell the older boy everything. 

“I don’t really know where to start, so I’ll just jump into it.” Hyunwoo nodded and gave Minhyuk his undivided attention. 

That was one of the things Minhyuk loved about his soulmate. No matter what he said, Hyunwoo was always listening. And he could tell the black haired boy actually cared. 

“So, I found out Soohyun’s mark isn’t real. She faked it.” He expected some kind of grand reaction. A gasp of shock, or an angry curse. What he didn’t expect was a look of frustration directed at him.

“Minhyuk will you let this go? She’s not evil.” The blonde was about to argue, when Hyunwoo held a hand up to stop him. “I don’t want to hear it. Stop letting your feelings cloud your judgement. You hate her, I can’t say I’m her number one fan either. But she’s a part of Hyungwon’s life now, and we have to accept that.”

He glared at Hyunwoo and tried to understand why his soulmate was being so harsh. “If you would just listen to me, instead of telling me irrelevant things, you would know I’m not making this up.” 

“I’m done listening. You just lied to them. You tried to lie to me!” Hyunwoo stood up and started pacing the room. “How could you think I wouldn’t notice? Why would you ever want to lie to me in the first place?”

Minhyuk huffed and stood up as well. He could feel the distress coming off of his soulmate and wanted nothing more than to comfort him. But he restrained himself in favour of trying to get his point across. “I had to make it look believable. Hyungwon knows me too well, he would have noticed I was faking it and asked too many questions.” 

Hyunwoo had stopped pacing to look him in the eyes. “What questions could he possibly ask Minhyuk? Why you’re keeping things from the people around you? Why you hate his soulmate? Why you keep making things up to try and get us to hate her too?”

“Oh for the love of--Hyunwoo!” He stepped forward and shook his soulmate’s shoulders. “I’m not lying! How many times do I have to say that! If you can tell when I’m lying so well, then why is that so hard to believe?” 

Hyunwoo sighed and broke eye contact to look at the ground. “I want to believe you. And I know I should. But...” 

Minhyuk lifted his soulmates chin gently so he could see his face. “But?”

“Hyungwon’s always been a wild card. Someone who didn’t have a soulmate and could take you from me.” Hyunwoo took Minhyuk’s hand from under his chin to lace their fingers together. “He finally has someone in his life, which meant I didn’t have to worry about that anymore. And now you want to get rid of her and I can’t help but think it’s because you want to be with him.”

Minhyuk shook his head and took Hyunwoo’s other hand. He knew his soulmate was insecure about their relationship. But this was the first time he had brought up Minhyuk’s relationship with Hyungwon as a cause. “I will tell you a million times, until it sticks into that thick skull of yours. I love you. Only you. Whether Hyungwon has a soulmate or not, I’m still going to love you.” 

Minhyuk leaned forward and captured Hyunwoo’s lips in a chaste kiss before pulling back. He gave the older boy a sad smile. “You need to trust me. No one is going to stop me from wanting you. The moment I saw you, all thoughts of Hyungwon were gone, okay?”

“Okay. I’m sorry, I should have more faith in you. I know you love me, but I also know how strongly you felt for him.” Hyunwoo let go of Minhyuk’s hands to put his arms around the blonde’s waist, pulling him closer. Minhyuk wrapped his arms around his soulmate’s neck. “Before we met, I thought I didn’t stand a chance against him. I could feel you falling in love with him more each day. And when I did finally meet you, I wanted to hate him. But I couldn’t. I understood why you liked him. But that made everything worse, because I wouldn’t even try to stop you if you wanted to be with him instead.” 

“Well I don’t. And I’m never going to.” He ran his fingers through Hyunwoo’s hair to try and comfort him. “I know your dad ran out on your mom. But I would never do that to you. I promise, you’re stuck with me forever now.” 

Hyunwoo gave a soft laugh and Minhyuk smiled brightly at him. He knew this conversation wouldn’t be their last. Hyunwoo’s parents had messed with how the boy viewed soulmates. Their divorce had made him untrusting in the way soulmarks were supposed to work. He had even forced Minhyuk to sign his name five times before he believed the blonde was his real soulmate. But no matter what, he would always be there to reassure Hyunwoo he wasn’t going anywhere.

He pulled Hyunwoo in for another kiss, this time deepening it. Tonight he would forget about the Soohyun drama, and focus on making sure his soulmate knew how much he loved him.


	17. Cucumbers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long! It's short but hope you enjoy! - Kay

“Ugh she likes cucumbers. Of course she likes cucumbers.” Minhyuk heard a snort beside him and blindly reached back to hit Jooheon. “Don’t laugh! This is serious! They’re on her phone case!”

The two boys were sitting on Jooheon’s bed after vocal practice that day. While the rest of the group went out for dinner, Minhyuk had convinced the rapper to stay and creep Soohyun’s Facebook. The two were looking for any dirt they could find on her. The other members were easily fooled into believing Minhyuk was just too tired and needed a cuddle buddy. 

“What, are you afraid she’s going to try and feed you cucumbers?” At that Minhyuk turned to face at the rapper. The younger boy was looking at him with a questioning smirk. 

“Of course not. Don’t be stupid, I would never eat anything that hell spawn gave me.” He shot Jooheon a glare as the brunette started laughing. “You don’t understand what this means!” 

“No. So please, enlighten me.” Jooheon was lucky he was cute and his soulmate low key scared Minhyuk when he was angry. Otherwise he would be very dead right now for not understanding the gravity of this situation. 

“They are on her phone case Jooheon! Her phone case!” He pointed to his own phone case, which sat beside him, for emphasis. It was such a simple connection, he didn’t know why the younger boy hadn’t noticed it. 

Jooheon stopped laughing and tilted his head in confusion. “I don’t get it. What does her phone case have to do with anything?” Minhyuk couldn’t stop himself from reaching over and squishing the younger boy’s cheeks. He looked so adorable when he was confused. His hands were swatted away and an annoyed pout replaced the confused one. “Tell me!”

“Your pout makes you cuter.” At the slight glare, Minhyuk giggled and decided he would put the boy out of his misery. “Her phone didn’t have a case when we met her. Everyone knows I hate cucumbers Jooheon! She obviously took her case off, knowing she would meet me.”

“Okay? So she didn’t want to offend you? Or... I still don’t get it.” Minhyuk sighed and realized he chose the worst co-conspirator. Jooheon saw the good in everyone, and that was not what Minhyuk needed right now. 

“No, Jooheon. Only fans would know I don’t like them. Or at the very least someone who knew who we were before a few days prior to meeting us. Therefore, her taking off her case means she’s a fan!” He saw realization dawn on the rapper’s face. “See? She’s manipulative! Wanting Wonnie to think she wasn’t a fangirl when she clearly is.”

“I mean... That’s possible... But, there are other possibilities.” The blonde gave the younger boy a defiant look, challenging him to come up with a better explanation. “Min, her case could have broken, or maybe she doesn’t always use one. Or she could be a fan but she was too embarrassed to admit it? Not everything she does has to be malicious.” 

Minhyuk scoffed. Of course everything she did was pure evil. For Jooheon to even suggest differently proved how much Minhyuk had to teach his protégée. He set his laptop to the side and turned to fully face Jooheon. It was time to tell his friend everything he learned so far and hope for the best.

Minhyuk grabbed Jooheon’s hands, letting the younger boy know he was being serious now. “Promise you won’t think I’m lying?” When Jooheon nodded, he continued. “When I followed Soohyun to the bathroom a few weeks ago, I heard her talking on the phone. She was telling someone how happy she was to be with Hyungwon and…” He took a deep breath before continuing, “And that she should have done something years ago. And the other day, when we went on a double date with them, I saw someone saved in her contacts as Dream Maker. When I called it, it was a tattoo shop.”

He saw Jooheon gape at him and felt the grip on his hands tighten. “You can’t be serious? Tell me you aren’t serious?”

He sighed at looked down at their hands. “I wish I could, but...”

“Well, now I hate her too.” Minhyuk’s head shot up and he looked at the rapper gratefully. 

He hadn’t expected Jooheon to just accept his words. His own soulmate hadn’t even believed him right away. He thanked his past self for choosing the young brunette as his partner in crime all those years ago. 

“So what’s our plan of action? How are we going to expose her fake ass?” He gave a small smile to Jooheon. Now that he knew he didn’t have to do this alone, a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders. With Jooheon by his side, he knew they could expose Soohyun for the lying barracuda she was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've risen from my stress hole to give you guys a surprise chapter! Everyone thank Carla for giving me the motivation to finally post again! To anyone who was waiting the whole time I've been gone... Y'all are troopers and I love you. To all those who are new here, I'm sorry in advance for my sporadic schedule lol. Hope you liked it! - Kay


	18. Caught

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? Another update? So soon after the other one? It definitely isn't because I split my chapter into two parts for flow reasons... Enjoy! - Kay

“What are you doing?” Minhyuk shut his laptop quickly as he heard Kihyun approaching him. He was currently at his desk, trying to find the place that had fabricated Soohyun’s supposed soulmark. He figured it was best way to start was by looking at sketchy tattoo places in the area. He had planned to conspire further with Jooheon, but as soon as the rest of their group had gotten home, the rapper had been dragged to the dance studio with his boyfriend. No doubt to go over their choreography for the thousandth time. 

“Nothing really. What are you doing?” Minhyuk played up his smile as bright as he could while turning to the pink haired boy. Judging from Kihyun’s pointed stare, he hadn’t been that convincing. 

“Minhyuk, what were you looking at? I thought I saw something about tattoo parlours? You can’t honestly be thinking of getting a tattoo.” It sounded more like a command than a question. But Kihyun had come up with an excuse for him, so Minhyuk wasn’t about to complain.

“Okay you caught me... But you can’t tell anyone else! Not even Hyungwon. They would never let me—“

He was cut off by Kihyun’s impatient voice. “On what planet would I let you?” Minhyuk gave a hopeful look and was met with an impassive face. “No, no tattoos while your an idol. Our managers would flip.”

Minhyuk pretended to sigh in defeat, looking down at his hands. So far so good. “Fine, if you really think it’s that big a deal, I guess I won’t do it. Sorry Kihyun.” 

Just when he thought he was in the clear, Kihyun reached over and opened up his laptop. “What do you even want anyway? It can’t be—“ Minhyuk grabbed the boy’s smaller hands and tried to pull them away, but it was too late. His laptop screen lit up and the page Minhyuk had been looking at was on display. 

“I can explain!” He looked up to Kihyun and was met with angry brown eyes. 

“Explain what, Minhyuk?” So Kihyun was super mad and knew the blonde went behind their backs to find shady people. He was probably angry at how dangerous this was, especially if Minhyuk got caught. Who knows what the media could spin out of him going to a place that gave fake soulmarks. “How you’re trying so hard to take this from Hyungwon?” 

Minhyuk’s mind drew a blank. He had no idea how Kihyun had gone to that conclusion. “Wait, what are you talking about? I’m not taking anything, that evil wench is—“

Again he was cut off by Kihyun. “His SOULMATE Minhyuk! She’s his soulmate! He finally has what he’s always wanted! Why would you try so hard to ruin that for him? Making up that she has a fake mark? Are you that jealous?” 

“Jealous? What? Why would I be jealous?” He thought he had made it clear he was supportive of Kihyun and Hyungwon. So why on earth would the pink haired boy think Minhyuk was jealous? He knew the others thought that, but he never imagined Kihyun would suspect him of still having feelings for the visual. He had been the main one comforting Kihyun through all of this. Shouldn’t it be obvious that part of the reason he was taking down the walking barbie was _for_ Kihyun? “What are you—”

Minhyuk was never going to finish his sentences at this rate, as he was once again interrupted. “You can’t stand not having him all to yourself? At your every beck and call, is that it? He’s finally spending time with someone who could take him from you, so you’re trying to get rid of her. Ruin his one chance at happiness? You’re supposed to be his best friend but instead you’re being a selfish—“

“No.” That was the last straw. Minhyuk stood up and pushed Kihyun hard enough to make the shorter boy stumble back in shock. His voice was almost a growl, but he didn’t care. No one accused him of doing anything to take away Hyungwon’s happiness. “You’re wrong. I would never hurt him. He _IS_ my best friend. I _am_ doing this for him. That girl you all think is his soulmate, she’s insane. And I’m going to stop her from hurting him.” 

He stepped closer and noticed Kihyun take a small step back. But the shorter boy held his ground with a defiant look. “He’s happy, and she makes him that way. So even if you don’t like her, why try and take that from him?” Kihyun’s look of defiance seemed to morph into one of defeat. “She’s what he’s always wanted, Min. What we can’t be for him.” There it was, the real reason behind his words.

Minhyuk softened his gaze immediately and pulled the now teary eyed boy into his arms. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay.” He started rubbing soothing circles on Kihyun’s back. 

He felt Kihyun melt into his embrace and tears soak into his shirt. “He... he has... a soulmate. And it’s not... I thought it could be... but I’m not...” Even if the sobs made Kihyun’s words hard to understand, Minhyuk still knew what he meant. He hugged the pink haired boy closer and waited until he calmed down a little. He wished he had realized how hard Kihyun had fallen for his best friend sooner. Minhyuk pulled back until he could see Kihyun’s now red and tear stained face. He brushed some stray tears away as the vocalist gathered himself. 

The pink haired boy gave a sigh and slipped out of the embrace. “Sorry, I’m a mess.” He gave a small chuckle at himself and continued, “I shouldn’t have accused you of all that. I know you love him and want what’s best for him. Getting mad at you was just easier than...” 

He trailed off, so Minhyuk supplied an answer for him. “Admitting you wish she never existed and you were Hyungwon’s soulmate? Cuz I agree.” That earned him a tiny smile. 

“Yeah I guess so. Still, I was out of line.” Kihyun gave him an apologetic smile.

“It’s all good Kihyun, I get it.” He returned the smile with a bright one of his own, as he took Kihyun’s hand and led him back to the laptop. “How about I tell you what I know and you help me find sketchy tattoo shops? We can talk about how horrible Soohyun is and all the reasons we hate her.” 

Kihyun gave a real laugh this time, but resisted his pull. “No, Minhyuk. I don’t think I can get involved in this. I trust you to do what’s best for Hyungwon.” The shorter boy took a few steps towards the door. “Thank you. For all of this. I hope you’re right about her but...” Kihyun turned back to look at Minhyuk. “Don’t do anything too stupid, okay? Don’t get yourself hurt trying to prove something you can’t.”

Before Minhyuk could tell him how crazy Soohyun actually was, and how he was definitely right about this, Kihyun had left. Minhyuk gave a small sigh as he started his search again, hoping their vocal would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is! Thanks again for being so patient! - Kay


	19. Adventure!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back so soon! And so is Changkyun! Enjoy some cute Jookyun and an adorable Wonho! - Kay

“AH HA!”

Changkyun jumped in surprise at the sudden yell from Minhyuk, who was sitting on the opposite side of the room. He turned to glare at the blonde, having been disrupted from his sleepy state while cuddling with his boyfriend. 

The manae had just gotten back from a long night of dance practice. The instant he had walked through their front door, he had dragged his soulmate to their shared room in the hopes of getting some decent rest. But the blonde had been in their shared room, on his laptop seemingly searching for something. Jooheon had known exactly what the older boy was looking for, but the two had been dodging all of Changkyun’s questions. He had given up in favour of playing with his boyfriend’s hands while trying to doze off on Jooheon’s chest.

“What is it?” Changkyun groaned and rolled away from Jooheon. If his soulmate was going to indulge Minhyuk, then the older rapper wasn’t going to get any more cuddles. Jooheon pouted at the loss of contact and the maknae shook his head fondly. He felt his boyfriend grab at his sides and let out an involuntary laugh as it tickled him. 

“Stop being cute and listen to me!” Changkyun dodged the pillow that was thrown their way. “I found it!”

Jooheon shot up and jumped over Changkyun to get to Minhyuk’s side. “Show me!”

“Show you what?” Changkyun slipped off the bed and walked towards the other two. “What on earth are you two doing?”

“Wasowki’s Tattoo Parlour! Terrible name by the way.” Changkyun tilted his head in confusion, looking to his boyfriend for an explanation as he sat on the edge of the bed. 

“It’s the place Soohyun faked her tattoo, Kyunnie.” After what Jooheon must have thought was a decent explanation, he turned back to Minhyuk. But all that did was give Changkyun more questions. When had they established she had faked her mark? “But how do you know this is the right guy?” 

“Well, aside from it having the same name as the voice message from her phone—” Before the blonde could continue, a very distraught Wonho burst into their room and flopped down on the maknae line’s laps. 

They heard a loud groan come from Jooheon’s lap, where the older boy had hid his head. Changkyun rubbed Wonho’s back to try and comfort him as he looked at the other two in confusion. All he got was a shrug from Jooheon and silent laughter from Minhyuk. 

“Hey Hoseok. What’s wrong?” He received another loud groan in response. The youngest continued to rub circles into the boy’s muscular back, Jooheon starting to run his fingers through Wonho’s hair. 

After a few minutes, Minhyuk finally intervened. “Okay, that’s enough of this. Get up. Tell us what’s wrong.” The blonde made a gesture with his hands that seemed pointless, given that Wonho couldn’t see his movements. 

Wonho gave a soft sigh before pushing himself up so he was sitting between the two soulmates. Changkyun watched him glance at the three of them before his gaze fell to his wrist band, where his soulmark was hidden. 

“The other three stopped listening to me, so I need to complain to you guys. But for the past couple of weeks, I’ve been getting this... I don’t know... feeling of unease? Like something’s wrong, and it’s my fault.” Wonho set his head on Changkyun’s shoulder and the youngest reached out to pat it. “I know it’s from my soulmate. I just... there’s nothing I can do for her and it sucks, you know?”

Changkyun met Jooheon’s eyes over Wonho’s head and thought back to all the times he had felt negative emotions from his soulmate. The first time he was able to physically comfort Jooheon was one he would never forget. It had been back when No Mercy had ended. He wrapped his arm around Wonho and hoped the older boy would find his soulmate soon. 

“Well... whenever I can’t get to Hyunwoo immediately, it helps me to have a distraction.” He felt Wonho’s hair tickle his neck as he shifted so he could look at Minhyuk. “So no more moping around! Let’s talk about anything else, or we could go and do something!” 

“Right, sure.” Changkyun squeezed Wonho’s shoulder and was given a small smile in return. “What were you guys doing before I interrupted?” 

Changkyun could tell this wasn’t going to help much. If the singer’s soulmate had been distressed for over a few weeks, then there was no way a simple distraction would do anything. He also knew Minhyuk would be aware of this, but he applauded the blonde for trying.

“We were working on a way to take Soohyun down. And, I think I finally found the place I need to be able to do that.” Changkyun gave Minhyuk a skeptical look. There was no guarantee what the older boy was saying was true. But the amount of trust radiating off his soulmate right now made him want to believe in Minhyuk’s words. 

“Why would we take her down?” Wonho sat up and faced Changkyun. “You’re the one who told me to give her a chance, and now you want to get rid of her?”

He saw the other two glance at him in confusion before he focused on Wonho. “I know, and I’m not apart of whatever they are planning. I just found out too.” 

“Got it.” Changkyun and Wonho both looked to the two mischief makers for further explanation. “So why must we get rid of her? Besides the obvious reason that Kihyun is much better for Hyungwon?”

He saw Minhyuk nod in agreement. “The main reason is she’s a filthy liar.” The blonde looked like he wanted to say more, but stopped as he read something on his laptop. “But I don’t have time to explain it. Jooheon we have to go, like now.” 

“What? Why?” Minhyuk was already up and pulling Jooheon along behind him. 

“No wait!” Wonho jumped up and grabbed Minhyuk’s shoulders from behind to stop him before they made it to the door. “Where are you going? Kihyun is in the middle of making food.” 

Changkyun stood to approach the three boys, ready to step in if things got too confrontational. He watched as Wonho spun Minhyuk around to face him. The black haired boy had a tight grip on Minhyuk’s biceps, ensuring he couldn’t leave. 

“There’s no time! We have to go before it closes!” Changkyun heard the distress in Minhyuk’s voice and noticed his hold on Jooheon’s hand tightened. 

Wonho still didn’t let go though. “What on earth is open at...” He saw the muscular boy look at the clock on the bedside table before turning back to Minhyuk. “12:40 in the morning?” 

“A really sketchy tattoo shop that I need to be at before it closes! We only have an hour and a half, Hoseok!” Minhyuk tried to worm his way out of Wonho’s hold, but the older boy was too strong. The blonde gave a huff and dropped Jooheon’s hand to push on Wonho’s chest. 

“Let me get this straight. You’re planning to go to a sketchy tattoo shop, _in the middle of the night_ , with the world’s biggest scaredy cat, and you expect me to just let you leave?!” Changkyun heard Jooheon give a small whine in protest before a glare from both older boys shut him up. The youngest gave his soulmate a pat on the shoulder and tried not to laugh. 

“Fine, come with us then, I don’t care. But we have to go now.” Changkyun watched as Wonho’s grip loosened slightly and started rubbing Minhyuk’s arms. “This guy is only open once a week, and apparently his location changes frequently. I need her gone Hoseok, as soon as possible.” 

“Alright, lets go.” The three looked at Wonho in surprise. Changkyun had not been expecting him to cave that quickly. “You’re going to go, with or without me. This way, I can make sure you two don’t get yourselves killed.” 

Changkyun smiled as Minhyuk wrapped Wonho in a bone crushing hug. The smile was dropped as quickly as it had appeared when the blonde turned to face the low voiced rapper. He didn’t want to be part of their plan, he was the worst liar and there was no way Chnagkyun was going anywhere this late at night. 

“You need to cover for us. We’ll tell them that we’re going to the convenience store or something, and you’ll probably have to stall.” Changkyun gave a long sigh before nodding. He knew he didn’t have a choice, this way he could at least stay out of the cold. 

“Thanks Kyunnie.” He turned to see Jooheon smiling down at him sweetly. “We’ll be home before you know it.” 

He was wrapped up in a tight hug that he gladly reciprocated. The brunette buried his face in Jooheon’s neck and hugged him tighter. “Just be careful okay? And if you get scared, I’ll be brave for you.” He felt a kiss on the top of his head and returned it with one on Jooheon’s neck. 

“Okay, stop being all cute and gross. We actually have to go.” Changkyun wanted to hit Minhyuk for interrupting him and his boyfriend yet again, and with such hypocrisy. But instead, he sighed and pulled away from the comforting embrace. He gave Jooheon a quick peck on the lips before stepping back and allowing his soulmate to be dragged out of the room by Minhyuk.

“I’ll bring him back safe and sound, don’t worry Kyunnie.” Changkyun swatted at the hand Wonho reached out to ruffle his hair with. He smiled gratefully regardless, following the older boy out into the hall. 

He heard Minhyuk’s booming voice telling the other members a made up story of needing something better to drink in the house. This was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked the chapter! Things are about to go down my bros. I'm hoping to be back posting somewhat regularly. I'll try my best! Thanks for all the support, your comments mean the world to me! They are the reason I'm trying to get chapters out again. That and I need to fill the void in your hearts that Jay has left with her hiatus lol. Love you all! - Kay


	20. Worry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic has low key turned into a Showhyuk fic, but Hyungki makes an appearance and they will be back full force soon!! - Kay

“They should be back by now.” Changkyun looked behind him to see Kihyun standing in the doorway to the kitchen. He had a worried expression and was glancing between their front door and the three boys seated on the couch watching tv. It had been about half an hour since the other members had left to visit the tattoo shop. Changkyun had received a text from Minhyuk a few minutes ago, saying they had ‘arrived at the devil’s birthplace’.

“I’m sure they’re fine, Kihyun.” Shownu was playing the role of reassuring leader again. Changkyun watched him smile gently at the singer before gesturing for him to go back into the kitchen. “Finish up dinner, worrying won’t help you. If I get any reason to doubt their safety, I’ll let you know.”

Changkyun sensed an opportunity to help reassure Kihyun, so he joined in. “Yeah, if anything happened to them Shownu and I would know. But Jooheon is safe and happy.” He tried his best to give a bright smile. He was only half lying. The older rapper was safe, but he definitely wasn’t happy. Changkyun had gotten used to feeling his soulmate’s fear, but it was stronger than normal. He tried to send comforting vibes but, through experience, he knew Jooheon was too scared for anything he did to work. 

He felt a hand on his arm and looked up to see Shownu staring at him with slight concern. “Do you think they’re okay?” He quickly looked to make sure Kihyun was gone. When he saw nothing in the doorway, he turned back to the older boy. “Minhyuk seems nervous. And he doesn’t normally get nervous. Maybe I’m imagining it? Our connections been kind of... off lately.”

Changkyun tried to keep the shock of his face, but when he saw Shownu’s apologetic expression he knew he had failed. It wasn’t very often their leader let slip about any sort of problems he had, especially to the three youngest members. He must be really worried then. 

“Heony’s fine. Like I said, he’s happy.” Changkyun hoped his words were convincing enough. He didn’t need their normally calm leader on alert. If that happened, Kihyun would be unbearable. Changkyun could already imagine the pink haired boy getting together a search party. He saw Shownu nod at him slowly before turning back to the tv. 

Having apparently heard their conversation, Hyungwon put a reassuring hand on Shownu’s shoulder. “Minhyuk hasn’t really been talking to me about things either. He gets like this sometimes Shownu, trust me. I’m sure you guys will work it out, whatever it is. You always do.” 

Changkyun expected Shownu to take comfort in those words and thank Hyungwon. But instead, their leader shifted uncomfortably. He almost seemed slightly angry. But Changkyun had no idea why that would be. “You don’t have to tell me how Minhyuk is. I’ve known him long enough, and I can feel it. He’s my soulmate.” With that, Shownu stood up and faced Hyungwon. “If you could stay out of our love life, that would be great.” 

The two younger boys were left in shock as Shownu walked towards the bedrooms. They flinched when they heard the bang of a door being shut too harshly. Changkyun heard a faint mumble come from Kihyun in the kitchen, but couldn’t distinguish what he had said.

Hyungwon made to get up and follow, but Changkyun grabbed his arm to stop him. “No, Hyungwon don’t. He’s obviously upset, you going after him might make it worse.” He squeezed the taller boy’s arm and saw him give a small nod. 

“What did you two do?” They both turned their heads to see Kihyun had approached the back of the couch. “I haven’t seen Hyunwoo slam a door since... actually I’ve never seen him slam a door.”

Changkyun heard a small huff of laughter from Hyungwon and watched Kihyun give him a soft smile in return. He took note that even though the two weren’t speaking, Kihyun still felt the need to make Hyungwon smile. The rapper would never understand those two. 

“We didn’t do anything, Ki. He blew up at me for no reason.” Changkyun only shrugged when both of them looked to him for more of an explanation. He was just as lost as they were. 

“Maybe he’s just stressed? And worried about Minhyuk?” He saw Kihyun get a nervous expression again. 

“Should we be worried? Should I call them? What if they are in trouble? What if—“ The older boy stopped mid sentence as Hyungwon reached out and grabbed his hand. Changkyun watched Kihyun looked at their joined hands in shock before collecting himself and pulling away. 

The two locked eyes and Changkyun thought it looked like they were having a silent conversation. Hyungwon got up and walked around the couch to stand in front of the singer, once again taking Kihyun’s hands and rubbing small circles with his thumbs. It was such an intimate moment, Changkyun almost felt bad for witnessing it. Changkyun shook his head to stop himself from imagining how cute they would be if they stopped being dumb and addmitted their feelings for one another. They already had Wonho and Minhyuk pushing them to get together, he didn’t need to step in. 

“Hey guys?” He laughed as they jumped apart and turned to look at him. “I’m going to go check on Shownu. But try not to worry okay? Like I’ve been saying, Jooheon is fine.” 

This time he didn’t have to lie, he noted. Jooheon had calmed down significantly and almost seemed excited now. Changkyun smiled to himself as he stood up, glad his soulmate was doing okay. As he walked passed his friends, he took note of the unsure glance Kihyun was giving Hyungwon. He hoped for the pink haired boy’s sake that whatever the others found in that tattoo shop would help sort out this situation. 

Changkyun hesiated just outside the dance line’s room. He debated if he should knock or just walk in. He decided on the latter, knowing Shownu would probably turn him away if he gave the option. The first thing Changkyun noticed when he entered, was darkness. He flicked the lights on and watched as Shownu glared at him from his bed. The eldest was currently laying on his side, hugging a stuffed bear. It was the one Minhyuk won him at a fair they had all gone to a few years ago. 

“I don’t want to talk, Changkyun. You should go back out there and make sure Kihyun doesn’t call the police or something.” Changkyun noted that Shownu’s voice lacked the regular authority he was used to hearing from his leader. 

“I’m sure Hyungwon has that covered.” He sat down on Wonho’s bed, across from the black haired boy. Shownu gave a soft sigh before sitting up, still hugging the teddy bear. “If you wanna talk, I’m here. I know I’m not normally the person you go to for this kind of thing, but…” he trailed off, not really knowing what to say. 

“Thank you Changkyun. But it’s nothing, really. Just me being... It doesn’t matter.” Changkyun tilted his head, intrigued. Shownu had been about to open up. If he was willing to talk to the maknae about this, something must really be bothering him. “I would like to know where they are though.”

Changkyun gave him a sheepish grin. “Would you believe me if I said I didn’t know?” Shownu’s head shake told him that was a no. “I’m not sure how much Minhyuk told you, but they went to the tattoo shop. So if he’s right, then Hyungwon’s in for a surprise when they get home.” 

“Of course they did. Why did they tell you and not me?” Changkyun was taken aback by the hurt in Shownu’s voice. 

“I was in the room when they made the decision, and you were with Kihyun so...” It didn’t seem like what he was saying was making any difference, so he tried to change tactics. “Hyunwoo, are you okay? Minhyuk’s going to be fine, they should be home soon.”

“I’m not worried about Min, I know he’s okay. Probably overjoyed Hyungwon won’t have a soulmate anymore. I’m tired of him lying to me, Kyunnie. It hurts.” Shownu looked tired. Like he was drained of all energy. Changkyun couldn’t think of a time he had ever seen the older boy this vulnerable. “Everytime I start to get confident he loves me, he does something like this and I just...” 

“He does love you!” Changkyun wanted to hug Shownu and never let go. He knew the feeling of doubting your soulmate’s love too well, and he wished he could erase that feeling from the older boy. “Hyunwoo, you can’t do this to yourself. He’s just looking out for his friend. Nothing else.” 

“The worst part is I know that’s not true. And before you tell me I should trust him, I tried that. But I can feel his emotions, Changkyun. No matter how many times he tells me he’s over Hyungwon, I know he’s not.” 

He saw tears well up in Shownu’s eyes as his voice cracked at the end of his sentence. Changkyun rushed over and wrapped his arms around the black haired boy’s muscular frame. He felt Shownu melt into the embrace and grasp onto him tightly. He ran his fingers through the other’s short, black hair and pulled him closer. 

After a few seconds, Shownu whispered a small thank you and pulled back. Changkyun watched as he wiped his eyes with his sleeve and mumbled an apology.

“Don’t apologize. That’s... a lot on someone.” He felt Shownu rub his shoulder and smiled up at him as reassuringly as he could. He almost laughed at the situation. Shownu was still teary eyed and yet he was comforting Changkyun about something the younger boy had gone through years ago. 

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t burden you with my problems.” He was about to protest when Shownu shook his head and squeezed Changkyun’s shoulder. “I’m also sorry you ever went through this. At such a young age too. I wish I could have been there for you more.”

“You were... eventually. All of you were. And I’m going to be here for you. I mean that, don’t bottle this up again.” Changkyun caught Shownu’s eyes and made sure he was listening before continuing. “It worked out for me, Hyunwoo. Everything I thought Jooheon was feeling was all in my head. I think it might be for you too.” At that Shownu scoffed and let his hand fall back down. “No, I’m serious. It felt like Jooheon hated me, like he wanted nothing more than to love someone else.” 

That was something he had never told anyone. Changkyun didn’t like talking about what he went through before their debut, but it seemed like Shownu could use his knowledge. “When my mark started to scar over, it was all in my head. The pain, that wasn’t Jooheon’s fault. It was my own. I was so caught up in thinking he didn’t love me, I lost our connection and started perceiving my thoughts as his emotions. And I think you might be doing the same.” Shownu was watching him with intrigue now, letting him know he made the right choice to open up. The younger boy just hoped he was right about Minhyuk not having feelings for the tall visual. 

“So... what does that mean, exactly? That me thinking he’s in love with Hyungwon is making me feel it?” Changkyun nodded and he saw realization dawn on Shownu’s face. It quickly turned into a grimace. “This whole time, I’ve been doing this to myself and getting mad at Minhyuk for nothing?” 

“Not nothing. Something made you feel this way to begin with. But soulmates make you do crazy things. It’s the downside to loving someone so much.” He let himself glance down at the dull grey mark on his wrist. Normally Changkyun hated looking at it. It was a reminder of all the pain and hurt he had gone through. But it was also a reminder of how much Jooheon loved him. How his soulmate had saved him from his own self sabotaging thoughts. 

He looked back up to see Shownu smiling at him with pride. “I’m glad things worked out for you two. You’re really good for each other.” 

“So are you and Minhyuk. You just have to let go of all that self doubt. Stop thinking Hyungwon is more worthy of Minhyuk. There’s a reason fate choose you as his soulmate.” He pulled Shownu’s sleeve up and watched as the older boy smiled fondly at the name written there. 

He heard a small chuckle escape Shownu and looked at him in a silent question. “He just sent me comforting vibes. And I can feel him worrying about me. I’m supposed to be worried about him.” 

Changkyun smiled brightly at his leader. “See, he loves you. And any time you need a reminder of that, all of us will be here. Even Hyungwon. Who you kind of unfairly got mad at back there.” 

Shownu winced before he nodded and stood up. “Yeah, I should go apologize.” He helped Changkyun stand and then pulled the shorter boy into a tight hug. “Thanks Changkyun. I needed this. And I’m glad you told me about what happened to you. If you ever need to talk more about it...”

Changkyun gave a reassuring smile as he pulled back. “I know, you’re always here.” The two shared a fond look before separating and heading back to the living room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry Shownu! He's a precious gem and he should never be sad. Hope you guys liked it! Sorry to anyone (Carla) who was waiting all day for me to post and to the people who had to listen to them (Jay) lol. Hope it was worth it! - Kay


	21. Nerves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a day early! Enjoy! - Kay

“I should check on the food. Or stop making it, since no one wants to eat around here.” Hyungwon smiled apologetically down at the singer and nodded. He watched the smaller boy’s back as Kihyun walked to the kitchen. 

He felt the urge to follow and make sure he was okay. “If something was really wrong, the other two would know. That’s how soulmates work.” 

He heard Kihyun scoff, but the older boy had yet to turn around. “I know that. Doesn’t stop me from worrying. Why do you even care?”

“You’re my friend and I don’t like seeing you like this.” He left out the part where he could practically feel Kihyun’s nerves and it was suffocating. He stopped at that thought. Did that make sense? How could he feel Kihyun’s emotions? What if they were Soohyun’s? He finally started to get emotions off of her recently, or he thought he had. While they were out for dinner the other night, he was overcome with joy when they met up, and he knew it wasn’t his own. But he couldn’t be sure, his wrist was still blank and he could have imagined it. He tried to clear his thoughts and focus on the shorter boy in front of him. 

“Ki...” He trailed off and waited until the vocalist turned to face him. “Do you think...” He stopped himself, unsure of how to phrase his question. He could feel concern flowing off Kihyun, but he wasn’t sure if it was for Shownu or the members that had yet to come home. Now wasn’t the time to ask about Soohyun possibly being his lost soulmate then. He needed to be there for Kihyun. 

“Do I think what, Hyungwon?” The pink haired boy had already turned back around and started putting food into containers. Everything he did was slow and messy. Completely unlike his normal fast but delicate movements while in the kitchen.

Hyungwon sighed and stepped up behind him. He wrapped his arms around Kihyun’s slim waist and set his chin on his shoulder. He felt the older boy tense before leaning back into him. He was about to say something, but stopped himself when the pink haired boy turned around and buried his head in Hyungwon’s chest. 

Once he got over his initial shock, he pulled Kihyun closer. He started running one hand through soft pink hair, while the other rubbed comforting circles on his back. He felt Kihyun start to relax and let out a breath of relief. They stayed like that until they heard Changkyun call from the living room. 

Kihyun started to pull away, but Hyungwon held him tighter. He looked down to see Kihyun give him a confused look. “You’re still stressed Ki, he can wait.” He felt Kihyun’s hands on his back drop away and knew the moment had been ruined. He sighed and let go of the shorter boy. 

“You should go see if Shownu’s okay. I need to finish.” Hyungwon caught his eye and saw a defeated look in them, but had no idea why. The two finally started talking somewhat normally again, yet it still felt like there was something Kihyun wasn’t telling him. Hyungwon used to be able to read the singer like an open book. But ever since their talk in the stairwell after meeting Soohyun, it had been a lot harder to know what the older boy was thinking. 

He realized the two had been staring into each other’s eyes for a bit too long. He turned his head away to look at the ground, hearing Kihyun start packing things up again. Hyungwon spared one last glance at Kihyun’s back before making his way to the living room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that was super short... But it's finally Hyungki! I'm hoping to get the next chapter up sooner than next weekend, since this one was so tiny. Wish me luck! Love you guys <3 - Kay


	22. Answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it! A chapter in the middle of the week, yay! - Kay

It smelt like ass. That was the first thing Minhyuk noticed walking into the old building their mystery tattoo artist supposedly worked in. The second thing he noticed was the lack of lighting. The small shop was illuminated by only one ceiling light at the centre of the room. Minhyuk wondered how anyone could give a tattoo in a place like this when he had trouble seeing things directly in front of him.

The blonde made to grab for Jooheon, only to realize his younger friend already latched on to Wonho’s side and was shaking slightly. Minhyuk gave a small chuckle at how cute the scared boy could be. 

“Hello? Mr. Wasowski?” Minhyuk called, hoping he hadn’t butchered his pronunciation of the foreign surname. He heard Wonho whisper ‘Wasowski’ under his breath and realized he hadn’t told the older boy the shop owner’s name. 

Minhyuk’s eyes traveled to the door at the back of the shop when he heard it creak open. He expected a big, scary, burly man to walk out. What he got was a girl with short, curly brown hair, wearing pastel green skinny jeans and a pink floral top. 

He heard Wonho give a slight gasp and laughed at his friend’s obvious staring. Minhyuk had to admit, the girl was cute. He would have been staring too, had he not been incredibly gay and taken. He looked back to the girl in time to see her shift somewhat uncomfortably before she tried to mask it with confidence and face them directly. 

“Hi, my uh... my dad’s not here, but I can take a message or um...” Minhyuk tried to stifle his laughter as the short girl not so subtly checked Wonho out. She had yet to take her eyes off the singer, but Wonho wasn’t fairing much better. It seemed like the two were entranced by one another. He knew he had to step in or they wouldn’t get anywhere.

“Sorry, could I get your name?” The girl snapped out of her daze and turned to face Minhyuk. It seemed as though her personality had shifted from a bumbling, adorable girl to a sassy, confident woman. 

“Why on earth do you need my name? What do you three even want? The tattoo artist isn’t here right now. But like I said, I can take a message.” Minhyuk already liked her. She had an undeniable fire and he found himself wishing someone like this had faked their way into Hyungwon’s life, instead of the modern day Medusa he had been stuck with. At least this girl would have been interesting. 

“Sorry, I’m Minhyuk. This adorable scaredy cat is Jooheon.” He gestured to the boy now trying to hide behind Wonho’s muscular shoulder. “And this handsome man who you can’t stop staring at, is Lee Hoseok. And your name is?” He waited for the flash of recognition to grace the girl’s face before looking over at Wonho and smirking at his confusion. 

Minhyuk smiled as he watched Wonho’s face when the older boy finally clued in to who was standing in front of them. “Jess... Jessi Wasowski...” His friend broke out into a huge grin and rushed forward. He lifted the curly haired girl up and spun her around, setting her down gently. 

Minhyuk smiled at them fondly as they hugged when he felt a hand tug at his sleeve. He turned to see Jooheon grinning at him. “How did you know?” 

“It doesn’t take a genius to figure out there aren’t many Wasowski’s in Korea. Plus the douchebaguette had a contact in her phone named Jessi.” He looked back at the couple, now gushing to each other about their lives and how happy they were to meet. 

He remembered the first time he met Hyunwoo. It was still the happiest moment of his life. He tried to reach out for his soulmate, only to be met with sadness and unease. Minhyuk rubbed his thumb over his mark, trying his best to send some sort of comfort. The distress coming from his soulmate was enough to make Minhyuk want to head home and make sure Hyunwoo was okay. He was just about to turn around when he felt his soulmate slowly calm down. He breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed for Jooheon, wrapping his arms around the rapper’s shoulders from behind. Hyunwoo would be fine and he still had a mission to complete.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wonho has a soulmate now yay! Hope you guys liked it! Sorry for all the short chapters, but things are finally gunna start happening! I'm going on a short vacation with my fam, but I have left Jay in charge of posting! So if anything goes wrong, direct all blame to her, @monrohajay on twitter. Love you all!! - Kay


	23. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This is not the author Kay, but Jay who shares this account. Enjoy this short chapter!

It had been two hours since they had left their apartment, and Minhyuk was concerned with the lack of texts from Kihyun. By now, his friend’s motherly instincts would have kicked in and all three of them would have at least 10 missed calls and over 50 texts. He unlocked the door, half expecting to be met with the place on fire or his group members tied up at gunpoint. Anything to explain the lack of concern he had received from them. 

He walked towards the living room and stopped in his tracks at the sight in front of him. The blonde couldn’t stop the coo of happiness that escaped him. There on the couch, were the two most important people in his life, cuddled up and sleeping peacefully. Hyungwon had his long arms wrapped around Hyunwoo’s middle and his head on the older boy’s chest. Hyunwoo seemed to have fallen asleep while running his hand through the visual’s hair, as his hand was still in the soft brown locks. His other arm was placed around Hyungwon’s back, and he guessed their legs were intertwined underneath the blanket draped over them. He whipped out his phone as quickly as he could and snapped a few pictures before watching them fondly. Minhyuk always wished the two would get closer, but his soulmate had been a bit closed off to Hyungwon. Hopefully now, that would change. 

He felt an arm drape over his shoulder and glanced up quickly to Wonho before returning his gaze to the pair in front of him. 

“They’re cute.” He heard Wonho give a small laugh before continuing. “You gunna wake them up and show them?”

“No!” He covered his mouth and winced at how loud he had been. Minhyuk made sure the two sleeping boys hadn’t been disturbed, before turning back to Wonho and continuing in a much softer tone. “They look so content. No one is allowed to ruin that. Ever.” 

He heard Jooheon laugh from behind them and sent his friend a warning glare to be quieter. Jooheon stuck his tongue out before saying he was going to find Changkyun and headed in the direction of their bedrooms. 

“We should probably go to bed too, if you’re not going to say anything tonight.” He nodded at Wonho’s words, watching as the older boy retreated to his room. He was about to follow when Kihyun emerged from the bathroom. His pink hair was wet, which meant he probably just got out of the shower. A look of relief washed over Kihyun as the two met eyes and the blonde smiled brightly at his friend. 

“Hey Ki. Sorry we took so long. But it was worth it, I promise.” He stumbled back in surprise when the shorter boy tackled him in a tight hug. Minhyuk wrapped his arms around Kihyun’s small frame and laughed into his hair. “I didn’t think you would miss me that much. I’ve only been gone for like, three hours.”

“Shut up.” He laughed even harder at the muffled response from the pink haired boy. 

The two separated and Minhyuk watched as Kihyun turned to look at the two on the couch. “You saw them right?” 

“Yeah, it’s adorable.” He couldn’t keep the fondness out of his voice as he stared at his soulmate and his best friend. 

“Shownu got kinda upset and Changkyun had a talk with him. I’ve never really seen him like that.” Kihyun turned back to Minhyuk, catching his eye before looking at the ground. “I think it helped, a lot. Shownu also had a talk with Hyungwon while I was in the kitchen, I guess. When I came out to check on them, Changkyun had gone to bed and they were like that.” 

“He’s not the most... secure, about... things...” Minhyuk was just grateful his soulmate had seemed to make some sort of progress. 

He felt Kihyun place a hand on his shoulder and glanced over at the shorter boy. The lead vocalist gave him an understanding smile before sighing. The blonde knew exactly where the conversation was headed. “I know you guys didn’t go to the convenience store. Otherwise you would have bags. And you definitely wouldn’t have been gone that long.” Minhyuk smiled sheepishly at the stern look Kihyun was giving him. “Where were you?”

Minhyuk smirked and he saw regret written on Kihyun’s face for even bothering to ask. “Well I can’t tell you that, now can I? We both know I have a flare for the dramatics.” He giggled at the exasperated glare his friend shot him. The taller boy gave a mock offended look when Kihyun shoved him gently.

He missed this Kihyun. Ever since their unwanted eight wheel had shown up, the vocalist hadn’t been this relaxed or talkative. But as the two joked and watched their sleeping members fondly, Minhyuk knew everything would turn out okay. Tomorrow, Park Soohyun would be gone for good. And everything could go back to how it was before she plagued them with her presence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stuff is about to happen but you didn't hear it from me.  
> Kay said I could write anything here so I gotta plug my stuff.  
> Go read my showhyuk fic Must be Able to Kill Bugs and follow me on twitter @monrohaJay, I follow back.  
> See you later!! - Jay

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you liked it. Feedback is welcome! - Kay


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